The Art of Conversation
by Lacey52
Summary: Dead is it?  Why yes, yes it is.  SxD and AU.  Enjoy. First arc in the Arts Collection.  One down, four or so more to go...
1. Gossip

**_The Art of Conversation  
_**By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: I can't believe I'm doing an AU. (Sighs) I feel I owe an explanation to everyone, simply because I don't usually read or write AU, and I've given in to doing this. I have so many ideas floating around, and they are so damnably cliché that it isn't even funny…

You all shall probably either go 'Ick, what's with this? Why AU? Why so cliché?' or else you'll be laughing your butt off…I hope it's the latter and not the former. That would just make me sad. Let me reiterate something…IT'S AU! If they seem weird, blame it on that…it's not my problem if I want to stray from cannon in an extraordinarily LARGE way…okay, so maybe it is, but I really don't care right now.

Well, I finally got around to reposting this…hopefully I'll work on it now, lol.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter One: Gossip  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Have you heard about that sophomore, what's her name again, Sam or something?"

"Oh yeah, she's all Goth and stuff, dresses in all black and tries to save the trees or something?"

"Yep, I heard that she set a gorilla free from the zoo the other night."

"I heard that it was a tiger…"

"I heard a bear…"

"Anyways, I heard that she was going to spray paint the side of the school protesting the use of dissection for teaching in biology."

"Oh yeah?" a locker slammed shut, revealing the girl in question, "I heard that she liked to eat the livers of wild, Mongolian horses because they're sweet."

At the three horrified freshmen faces that Sam Manson found herself confronted with, she rolled her eyes in disgust, "Get a life, I wouldn't do that you twerps. Besides, why would I spray paint the side of the building? That just releases nasty stuff into the air…ya' know, chemicals and stuff that hurts the ozone and the greenhouse effect and all that?"

At the evident look of slight confusion, the elder girl tried her hardest not to scream in frustration and shoved her way past the girls. It was the same every day. Try to get through life, living invisibly in the background so you could just stay out of everyone's way, and they find you anyways.

'Sheesh,' Sam rolled her eyes as she continued down the hall, watching gathered groups of teens discussing the 'who's with who', and 'who did what, where and when' that seemed to occupy all of their time. Not that that was a bad thing.

'Well, it's not bad so long as I stay out of the rumor mill,' shaking her head she entered her first period room and quickly made her way to her desk, she tried her best to curb her glaring habit, 'I can't even really get mad at most of them because they aren't talking about me or anyone I know, but it's just so pathetic…I really hate gossips.'

"How about Marcel, anyone know that guy?" a girl giggled as she called a name from the pages of last year's yearbook.

Apparently it was a game for the small group gathered in a clump around the book, three or so desks back from Sam's seat, "Um, did he have glasses?"

"Bingo…What about that Fenton guy?"

"Yeah, I know him," a girl laughed as she blew on her nails, trying to dry them before class started, "He's such a loser though, the only reason I know him is because I had gym with him. He couldn't even finish the Presidential exam, and he's so clumsy…"

"Wow," Sam cut in, dramatically widening her eyes and dredging up as much sarcasm as she could, "what a _great_ reason to demean a person. I mean, clumsy and not athletic? How pathetic, right? It's just shocking!"

"What do you know?" Nail-girl replied, "It's not like you're friends with him. Besides, he's just a goofy guy, who cares?"

"Just thought I should at least try to stand up for someone who doesn't know they're being talked about," Sam glared as she turned back around, "It's sad that you get your jollies from picking on someone who can't even defend themselves because they aren't around…"

The bell cut off any reply from the gathering of girls as their teacher slid into place. Sam decided once again that she utterly loathed school and the idiotic gossips in it. Truly it was the bane of her existence at times.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"So, how'd it go last night?"

"Wonderful," the word rolled off of Danny's tongue as his eyebrows lifted and his eyes rolled, "Peachy, perfect, I don't know what else to say about it…"

"That bad huh?" Tucker clapped the boy on his shoulder, offering a sympathetic smile, "You have to run off to your job or something?"

"Worse," Danny slammed his locker open, grabbed a book, and slammed it shut again, "My job happened to consist of not one, but two problems, and they both decided to visit my date…"

"Ouch," Tucker sucked in a breath, "That's why you're all banged up this morning."

"I just don't think this thing with Valerie is going to work out," Danny shook his head as he leaned against the cool wall, "I mean, she's great and I really like her, but man…I can't keep this up, and I definitely can't tell her."

"So what are you going to do?" Tucker asked as he joined his friend leaning against the wall, "There are other girls at this school you know, that are far less inclined to bash your alter ego over the head."

"Yeah, I know," Danny ran a hand over his eyes, sighing heavily, "I just, really like her you know? I feel like I'm giving up on it."

"Dude, you've been trying for the past year," Tucker shook his head as he motioned for his friend to walk with him, "You keep giving and she keeps ignoring. I mean, you'll drop everything as soon as she wants to do something, but when it comes to her ghost hunting, she won't budge. That's not a relationship, and man, _she's _even tried to tell you that."

"Thanks for the reminder," the young man shook his head glumly as they entered their first period class, a strange look passing over his face, "Maybe I should just take a break. I mean, I don't _have_ to have a girlfriend just to be alive…I'll just…have friends."

"That are girls?" Tucker replied, "Because seriously, you know you want a girlfriend."

"Shut up, Tuck," Danny responded to the gibe good-naturedly, "How about we just try to make it through the class?"

At Tucker's laugh and subsequent nod, Danny opened to a clean page of his notebook and began to doodle, trying in vain not to eavesdrop on the co-ed group beside him.

"Oh yeah, and then it was all, 'Fear me!'" a girl rolled her eyes as she imitated a nasally voice, "It was really scary right then, but now that I think about it, it was kinda' lame."

Chuckling to himself, Danny started a new doodle, this one featuring the Box Ghost trying to scare a group of school girls and them yawning in response. Another story was started, and the teen listened in, trying to get more ideas for his doodling as his best friend sat playing his games.

"God, I can't stand her," another girl flipped her hair and batted her eyes prettily, "She thinks she's so dark and mysterious."

"Well, she is," one of the guys shrugged, "I mean, she wears black all the freakin' time and no one ever talks to her…"

"So what, you like the freaky girl?"

"I never said that man, I was just sayin'…it's weird is all."

'What a bunch of dorks,' Danny shook his head as he began to draw, not doodle, but actually draw, 'So what if that girl wants to wear all black? I wear white t-shirts and jeans all the time and no one says anything about that.'

The drawing was quickly turning into the girl the group was blathering on about, dark hair, dark eyes, and a sad look on her face. He had only met her once or twice, in the hall or in a class over the course of their years at school, but Sam Manson's face stuck with him.

'She's pretty, but not the prettiest,' Danny mused over his own urge to draw her, 'I guess it's 'cause she always looks sad…and they're right, she never talks to anyone…but I wonder if that's because she doesn't want to or because they're all so afraid of looking bad?'

Closing his notebook before Tucker caught sight of what he had drawn, Danny settled down to listen to what the chattering teens were talking about now. He was unpleasantly surprised to find them still on the subject of the Manson girl.

"And she so totally needs to get a better wardrobe," someone stated, "I mean, those dark colors make her look dead."

"Maybe she's more comfortable that way," Danny joined their conversation, "I mean, look at where we live…we have like, a hundred ghosts around here, maybe she figures she's safer or something?"

"What do you know?" one of the other guys laughed amiably, "You don't talk to her either, for all we know she could be a vampire."

For one fleeting second a thought of, 'God I hope not, that's the _last_ thing I need,' floated across his mind before he started laughing with the rest of them. The laughter died down, and Danny found the urge to speak once again, "But seriously, who cares? If you're comfortable with the way you dress, why should it matter?"

"This coming from Mr. T-shirt and Jeans," the girl beside him grinned, "You got a point though."

"Wonder if she's nice," another girl piped up, "or if she really does set animals free and all that stuff that they always talk about."

"I dunno'," Danny shrugged, "but every time I've ran into her in the hall or something, she's at least polite. I bet she's alright."

"Who knows," a boy copied Danny and shrugged as the bell rang, starting their day off, "but who really cares?"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Oh the gossip mill is going to love this one,' Sam thought dryly as she sat waiting outside the principal's office, noticing several girls walking by and trying to discretely point out her lonely form, 'Sam Manson, local weirdo, spotted outside the principal's office, most likely wanted for setting the science lab on fire that morning and causing the fire drill…'

Laughing at her own wry sense of humor, she ignored the whispers and looks cast her way. She knew the truth of why she was there, so that was all that really mattered. The rumor producers were getting desperate if they had started to fabricate things about her. She wasn't popular, wasn't one of the 'bad kids' of the school, didn't have any trouble in class, so obviously the upper echelon of teen society was pretty humdrum for people to have started talking about her.

"So, did you hear about this one girl," a voice came from beside her as a boy slid into the seat, grinning like he knew something, "Supposedly she sat the science lab on fire or something?"

'Weird,' Sam tried to keep from smiling at the laughter in his blue eyes, 'I really don't like coincidences…they freak me out.'

"Oh yeah," she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in response, "She really had it in for the skeleton and the bacteria cultures."

"Hm," he nodded, then smiled again, "So did you do it?"

"Nope, you?"

"Nope, I'm in trouble for indecent exposure at lunch. My pants kinda' fell down…no belt," Danny shrugged and settled back into his chair to wait, "So how about you?"

"I'm writing a paper about school reform and wanted a professional opinion," she looked over at the boy beside her, "Danny Fenton, right?"

"Yeah," he bobbed his head congenially, "You're Sam Manson, huh? I mean, not that I couldn't tell…"

"Wearing all black seems to help people recognize me."

"Well, it's not all black," Danny frowned, "I mean, you've got purple and green on. I don't think that counts as black."

"Daniel Fenton?" the principal beckoned him in, leaving Sam's thoughts unspoken.

"That's me," Danny stood and gave a half smile, "Nice chatting with you."

"You mean gossiping with me," Sam replied with a half smile of her own, for once not minding that gossip had been spread if only between two people.

"Right," he nodded and walked off, ready to face yet another detention for something that was beyond his control, 'She really isn't as bad as they make her out to be…and I was right, she is nice.'

'That was weird,' Sam shook her head, 'Coincidences always happen for a reason…even though that kinda' goes against the word's meaning…'

Shaking her head one more time, Sam decided that she could deal with the principal later. Leaving a note with the receptionist, Sam took her leave of the office and the school. The day hadn't actually been too bad, but she was more than ready to head home to the comfort of her own room.

She could only hope that tomorrow would be better…

'At school? Yeah right.'


	2. Interview

**_The Art of Conversation  
_**By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: A couple of people mentioned the way Danny and Sam act. There's an explanation for that. I always have explanations…or at least I try to.

Danny and Sam have grown up the exact same way they did in the show, with the exception of them becoming friends. I believe that this would alter their personalities at least a small bit, thus forcing them to act the way they do.

Sam is more withdrawn and not as active in her protesting as she is in cannon because she doesn't have her two best friends to back her up. In the show she knows they care for her and are her friends no matter what. Here, she doesn't have that support and it shows in how quite she can be. She's still self-reliant and sarcastic...she just keeps it to herself a bit more.

Danny also doesn't have the same support system. Growing up with just Tucker as a best friend has probably influenced him in other ways, and I think that he might have had to mature a bit more than in cannon because he doesn't have a 'Sam' to act maturely for him. He's also a bit more outgoing because he's had to be…plus the fact that they're older by a year than in cannon.

Anywho, enough rambling, on with the weird story my sleep deprived brain thought up…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Two: Interview**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Sam knew that something about that day was going to be different, and while she never minded 'different', this had that feel of _really _different. It might have had something to do with the boxes floating past her window and the cries of "Beware!" that she woke up to that morning.

Or maybe it was the weather forecast that she watched as she ate breakfast that morning, where the day called for a twenty five percent chance of showers and heavy ghost saturation for most of the morning and that this would continue on into the afternoon.

She had lived in Amity all her life, and with that fact came her reaction. Total apathy. Ghosts were such a common occurrence that the only thing that she worried about was the 'heavy saturation' part. That meant that the large portion of her day would consist of keeping away from the mindless running crowds of hysterical people, also known as the people who over-reacted to everything.

Getting bruised, bumped, and trampled by huge mindless crowds wasn't in Sam's plans for the day. Unfortunately, going to school was and those things were consistent with a trip down the hallway anyways. With a frown, Sam grabbed up her back pack and headed off towards Casper High, checking to make sure that no lingering boxes were about to bother her. Quickly stepping off, she thanked God for small favors and made it halfway to school before that feeling of the day being different kicked in again. In a big way.

"Well, crap," Sam backed up a step, desperately trying to keep her cool, "Seafood was definitely not in the forecast today…"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Crap."

Tucker knew that word. As a matter of fact he knew it so well that he immediately reached into his backpack and pulled out a thermos and his PDA, ready to enter whatever information was needed to research the latest threat.

Turning to his best friend, he watched a second wisp of blue smoke making it's way from Danny's mouth as the young man sighed heavily. A group of flying shrimp were already heading away from them, followed by fish, a turtle, and what appeared to be half a lobster with the garnish still attached to its claw.

"Talk about fast food," Tucker tilted his head as he watched all the dead creatures whiz by.

"I think I can handle this one Tuck," Danny took the thermos from his best friend's hand, "Just take some notes for me if I miss first period or anything."

"Whatever," the other boy shrugged and started on his way, "I wasn't really in the mood to smell like fish anyways."

"Better than Foley, By Tucker Foley!" Danny retorted over his shoulder with a smile as he quickly ran to an alley way to change. Transformation done, the halfa was hot on the heels of the ghostly sea creatures, "Never thought I'd have to fight the same stuff that I ate for dinner last night…wonder if it's from the same restaurant that Mom and Dad took us out to…"

He had nearly caught up with the lobster, which was trailing behind for obvious reasons, when the fish in the group that he was chasing swung themselves around a sharp corner to the next street. Mumbled words in a feminine sounding voice had him knocking the half-lobster out of the way and rounding the corner himself.

Imagine his surprise at finding one, Sam Manson, trying to reason with the dead animals.

"Look, whatever you're upset about, you should just let it go," she had managed to get herself into a corner, and now was desperately trying to talk her way out of it before the sea life, er…dead sea life anyways, decided to take their revenge on human kind, "I mean, sure, you were eaten by somebody, but didn't all of you eat something at one point or other?"

As the fish took a dive at her, Sam realized that trying to communicate with the dead was a bad enough idea, but trying to talk reason into dead animals was probably the stupidest thing she had ever tried. Turning so that her backpack would take the brunt of whatever attack the ghost fish were launching, she prepared herself as best she could.

A shock of cold, and the feeling of being far too light found Sam floating above the place she had been standing with the fish flopping around on the ground trying to right themselves. The straps of her backpack dug into her arm pits, and as she realized her position and discomfort, Sam looked up into glowing green eyes.

Lowering her back down to the ground, Danny released her backpack and floated back a foot or so from her quickly, not sure how she was going to react. A fish smashing into the side of his head and slapping it's tail across his face brought him back to the situation at hand before he could worry too much more.

"Just stay there and don't move," Danny knocked the fish away and nodded to where Sam was standing, "Or run away screaming…I get that a lot too. Whatever makes you feel better."

Sam did as she was told and stayed still, rubbing her arms to chase away the ghostly chill that had invaded her senses, 'What was that? What did that ghost do to me to make me feel like that…it was down right creepy…in a very cool way…'

As the fish and Danny exchanged a few small hits, the rest of the wayward sea creature ghosts came back to assist their companions. The turtle bit, the half lobster pinched, and the shrimp were just flat out annoying as they managed to push the Fenton Thermos from his hand.

"Stupid shrimp," Danny complained as he blasted the turtle back away from him, "Hey, never thought I'd get to say that…"

"Why's that?" Sam asked dryly as she watched the young ghost literally fry the shrimp with a blast from his palms. She moved quickly while everything was happening around her to retrieve the thermos she had seen him loose, "And do you need this?"

"Yes," Danny moved over to her quickly, grabbing the thermos and uncapping it as all the ghosts rushed them at the same time, "Say goodbye!"

A bright flash from the thermos and the creatures were sucked in, leaving Sam and the ghost boy alone and a bit uncomfortable with one another. Shuffling from foot to foot, Sam wasn't exactly sure how to go about thanking the ghost from saving her from other ghosts. Here was the infamous 'Inviso-Bil', saving her life and acting like a normal, goofy teenage boy.

'He must have been my age when he died,' Sam realized as she looked him over quietly as he did the same to her, 'How sad…I wonder what happened to him.'

"It's 'cause I'm small," Danny cut off her thoughts as he finished screwing the lid back onto the Fenton Thermos and took one last look around them.

"What's 'cause you're small?" she asked in confusion, not following his line of thought, 'Maybe ghosts have different thought patterns or something. That would be interesting.'

"You asked me about why I was happy about calling something else a shrimp," Danny shrugged, "Because I'm small…I get called that all the time."

"You mean, you still get called that, even though you're dead?" Sam inquired, a frown marring her brow, "And I know you've done a lot to protect this city…other ghosts can't possibly be that stupid."

"It ain't ghosts," Danny mumbled as he rolled his eyes, "So…I guess I had better get going…"

"Oh, uh, well thanks for saving me from smelling like fish all day," Sam grinned slightly, causing the boy to pause, "And if you don't mind me asking…"

"What's up?" he turned more fully to look at her, curious as to what she was going to ask, 'Probably how I died or something morbid like that. She's nice, but she's a Goth…being morbid is probably just her thing.'

"It doesn't hurt the ghosts when they get sucked into the thermos does it?"

Danny had to stand for a moment as he processed her question, honestly shocked that she hadn't asked him something else. Most people would have asked about his death or his clothes or something like that…if they even stuck around that long. This Sam Manson, she was something else…

"Uh, no," the halfa shook his head, "It's just really, really cramped."

"How would you know that?"

"Because I've been in it before," Danny snorted, then rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "My sister sucked me into it three times."

"You have a sister?" Sam tilted her head, now thinking on what might have happened and why she never saw his so-called sister, 'Was there some accident that killed them both…or is she still alive and she got a thermos and accidentally trapped him…this doesn't make a lot of sense.'

"Yeah, I have a sister," Danny unfolded his arms as he realized his mistake, cursing himself for making such a stupid mistake. He'd definitely have to be more careful around her, "Why are we playing twenty questions?"

"I was thinking more like 'Spanish Inquisition' because you weren't expecting it," Sam smirked, but noticed that it was lost on the boy before her, "Okay, so you either don't know about Monty Python, or you died before their time…"

"I've heard of 'em," Danny shot back in his own defense, then frowned as he realized how late it was getting, "Can I go?"

"Was that sarcasm I heard?" her eyebrow raised in a challenging gesture, "And besides that, like the little school girl could really keep a ghost somewhere against his will…"

"I'm trying to be polite," he floated a little higher in the air, 'That and school's about to start…'

"So, I guess that means half of the rumors are true," Sam smiled as she started to walk off, thoroughly pleased with how she had handled herself and the ghost boy in the situation.

"Which half?"

His sudden appearance before her did nothing for her heart, but Sam kept herself as composed as she could after stumbling back a few steps. Shock white hair and flashing green eyes were definitely something she wasn't used to, "Uh, the good half I guess. I mean you saved me, and even though you're kinda' bratty…"

"I am not!"

"See?" Sam smiled as the floating teen beside her pouted, "But seriously, you aren't all evil and scary like some people think. So...thanks again…for saving me from smelling like fish."

"No problem," Danny was floored, few people would have ever said anything like that to his face. Mostly it was just 'Ghost!' or 'AH!' or 'Quick, let's catch it!'. Sure, most of the town had started to see him as some sort of hero, but there were still just as many who found him untrustworthy, 'At least I've got one more person on my side…'

"Well, schools about to start," Sam made to move off again, pausing only to send a small smile to the ghost, "See ya' around."

"Yeah, see ya'," Danny gave a half wave, then found himself surprised by her once again as she marched back up to him, "Uh, forget something?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded seriously, "Your name isn't seriously 'Inviso-Bil' is it? Because that has to be the lamest name I've ever heard."

Laughing despite himself, Danny looked off to the side for a second and shook his head in disbelief, "No, my name's…well, they call me Phantom. I've always hated that other name."

"Good," Sam sighed in relief, "I guess since I know your name, you should know mine. I'm Sam Manson."

"Uh, nice to meet you," Danny took the offered hand and shook, "Sorry my hand's cold."

"Not like you can help it," Sam looked him up and down, "I mean, no blood will do that to a person."

"Yeah…"

And then the bell sounded from the school yard, which was still two blocks away from them, and both turned in shock at the sound.

"Got to go!" and they were both hurrying off in their own directions, trying to beat the tardy bell and not gain a detention for the day, though only one knew they were both off to the same place.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Why do I smell fish?" Sam turned her head as she watched Danny Fenton enter the vice principal's room and take a seat two desks over from her. She had been tardy for the day, for obvious reasons, and apparently Fenton had managed to do something similar.

"Had a little run in with some flying shrimp this morning," Danny said smoothly as he wrinkled his nose, praying that she would just accept what he was saying and not question him, "Then all of a sudden they left me alone and took off towards the school. I was like, four blocks away when I realized the bell had rang."

"Oh," Sam wrinkled her nose in sympathy, knowing her fate could have been far worse had not the resident Phantom shown up to save her, "Sorry to hear that."

"Me too," Danny sighed as he sank further into his seat, watching a few other students shuffle in much like he had and then wrinkle their nose as Sam had done, "You here 'cause you were late, too?"

"Oh, yeah," Sam nodded, "Got a little side tracked this morning…"

'Playing 'Spanish Inquisition',' Danny supplied in his mind with a mental chuckle, 'I just hope the next time I ever run into her as Phantom she doesn't want to play again…'

"Salutations, delinquents. Today I believe you are all here because you were truant for part of your first class, am I correct?" Lancer walked in with a pile of books and didn't even bother to let the students answer him before moving on, "Open your notebooks, take out a pen, and begin writing an essay on why truancy should have harsher punishments in the school system. I want at least two pages by the end of the hour."

Paper was shuffled, pens were clicked or uncapped, and everyone was off and writing, with the sole exception of Lancer who was circulating around the room to prevent plagiarism. Or at least he was circling until he came upon Danny, "_Old Man and the Sea_! Why does it smell like fish in here?"

"That would be me," Danny sighed resignedly as he raised his hand, "I met a fish ghost this morning and he didn't exactly like me."

Gagging on the odor from standing so close to the boy, Lancer nodded his head and managed to choke out, "I'll be back in a few minutes, please behave," before he bolted out the door, heading no doubt for the nearest bathroom.

With the teacher gone, the students took a second to relax.

"Nice going," Sam smirked then went back to writing her essay.

"Guess the smell came in handy," Danny lifted his shirt to his nose and took a whiff, "Maybe I should wear this to Lancer's class more often…"

Sam just shook her head at the antics of the strange boy beside her, 'Boys…alive or dead, they're just as immature…'

Yep, today had most definitely fit her description of 'different' from that morning, but by no means was that a bad thing in her eyes. It just meant that her life was probably about to get more interesting...and she never minded that...not in the least.


	3. Debate

**_The Art of Conversation_**  
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Well, you guys certainly seem to be enjoying this strange little AU I've started. Glad that you like the cute, cliche feeling of it too. I certainly enjoy writing it...it's rather stress relieving actually. Anywho, hope that you all enjoy it! Loves ya'!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Three: Debate**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.o.

School wore on…and on and on and on.

Danny was quite tired of all the educational nuggets of gold that were being thrust his way by teacher after teacher, day after day, for what seemed like week after week…oh wait, that was actually a correct statement. Shaking his head at his own drifting thoughts, the shrill voice of none other than the queen of Casper High, the lovely Paulina herself, brought him back from his own foggy mind.

The upside of being pulled out of a near nap? The fact that Paulina was currently defending him against an ever mounting attack from most of the other students in the school. The down side? She was currently defending his alter persona and had no clue that she was actually standing up for the klutzy boy who she used time and time again to try and get closer to the 'dreamy ghost boy'.

It only took a year for Danny to figure out that she didn't like him for himself, but rather for the fact that where one Danny was, the other usually followed. For Danny and his thick skull where girls were concerned, it was quite the record breaker. Still, it didn't mean that he couldn't lazily stare at her as she spoke, letting his own hormones begin to steer his thoughts.

Of course, his stomach rumbling reminded him that he was rather hungry and that instead of standing in the hallway he should head towards the cafeteria. Meeting Tucker halfway down the hall, he was rather annoyed to find the teen hurriedly tapping something into his PDA…and the fact that it more than likely had to do with him wasn't making it any better.

"What are you doing?" Danny tried his best to keep his cool as he questioned his friend, walking the slightest bit faster so he could actually eat. Tucker adjusted his speed, and his glasses, before answering his best friend.

"Oh, you know…keeping tabs of the current topics of interest at Casper High," he finished tapping in the last bit of information and turned his full attention to his friend, "Did you know that you are _the_ hottest topic right now?"

Passing by the last row of lockers before the pair would come to the cafeteria doors, Danny paused in his tracks to incline his head and listen to a conversation between two girls.

"No way, he is so gorgeous he couldn't be evil!"

"Being gorgeous doesn't mean anything. What about that time that he tried to take over the town?"

"Yeah, well, what about the time that all our parents got kidnapped and he helped us get them back?"

"So he's helped out a few times, but that was probably just to throw us off guard or something!"

"Whatever, he's good and you know it!"

"Bad, totally bad!"

Danny raised his eyebrow as he turned back to Tucker, who had also been eavesdropping on the conversation, and was now trying not to laugh. It was hopeless, however, as Tuck walked away not three seconds later, laughing his head off.

"Shut up Tucker," Danny caught back up with his unsympathetic friend.

"Man, you used to actually _want_ girls talking about you," Tucker pushed open the doors and headed directly to the hamburger line, "Now you've got the whole town talkin', hot girls, popular people, and all."

"Yeah, joy," Danny grabbed a tray and joined him in his wait in line, "The entire town talking about how good or evil I am based on stuff that they _think_ happened. They have no idea what really happened and don't even care. Half the people that like me only like me because they think that Phantom is cute or because he's 'cool'. The other half hate me because they think that I'm some evil ghost bent on world domination."

"Dude, speeches in line are probably not the best thing," Tucker grabbed a burger and then a second, before moving off to grab a milk.

"Whatever," Danny shook it off and moved with his friend to their normal table, "I just want today to be over with. Preferably soon."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Why can't today be over with, say…right about now?' Sam watched the clock above her teacher's desk, the second hand gracefully moving across the face, measuring out the time as steadily and easily as anyone could ask a second hand to do, 'It's not like I haven't already finished with my work. Besides, shouldn't karma be paying me back right about now for helping that tuba player pick up his books? That had to be at least worth getting out of school ten minutes early…'

Her thoughts though, were in no way helping her pass the time as she noticed that only a few seconds had passed, as opposed to the hoped for ten minutes. With a muffled growl of frustration, Sam flipped to a new page in her notebook and began doodling random images, and surprised herself when she found herself sketching a rather generic picture of a ghost.

'Guess living in Amity Park with all the latest activity is finally going to my head. Ghosts…I loved the thought, and now that I'm living with them, I'm not sure. It's still cool, especially for a Goth,' she began a third sketch of a ghost, surrounding her own little image representing herself, 'but it's starting to get old. At least with that…what'd he say his name was…Phantom. At least with him things are happening.'

Sam flipped back to her page of notes to quickly write down something that her teacher had emphasized about the quiz that they would be having sometime that week, then returned to her drawings and gave it the once over. Four ghosts circled her cartoon image as she stood and had an eyebrow raised. Obviously she was beginning to be desensitized to it all, or so she had thought.

'The other day when those ghosts caught me before school, it really took me by surprise. I mean, I thought that it would be bad smelling like fish, but what if they had done something else besides just make me smell bad?' Sam began to chew on the end of her pen, 'Guess I don't have to worry about that, though. Phantom really has some bad PR…'

"And that's all that you need to be worried about for the quiz. As soon as the bell rings you're free to go and…" and at that moment the most beautiful sound, to both the students and the teachers, came about, "…there's the bell so have a nice day."

"Finally," Sam slammed her notebook shut and quickly headed for the door with the rest of her class, glaring at anyone who jostled her, "I just want to get home to a nice veggie dinner and a late night of loud music and internet surfing."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Aw, man," Danny hung his head as he and Tucker rounded the corner to their lockers, clearly hearing two distinct voices raised in the sounds of an argument, "they're at it again…why me?"

"They're at it 'cause of the mess you made yesterday with all that goo," Tucker chuckled at Danny's sour attitude, then cheerfully pointed out , "So really it's your fault they're arguing."

"It wasn't my fault that that stupid ghost threw goop balls instead of energy balls…" Danny huffed back as they tried to fight through the crowds of people standing in the hallway, watching the two girls getting ready start a fist fight over their subject.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Paulina flipped her hair over her shoulder, clearly distraught that yet another person was daring to argue with her.

"Yes I do," Valerie growled back, eyebrows furrowing in annoyance, "He's a menace to society. A villain, a fiend, how many different ways do I have to say it? Your 'ghost boy' is no good!"

"He's a hero, plus," Paulina clasped her hands in her normal, wistful manner, "he's super cute. He's saved me lots of times, _that _makes him good."

"He probably only saved you because he's a boy and has hormones. He just wanted to get you in his good graces and use you to convince other people."

"Hey!" Danny suddenly realized his mistake as everyone looked his way in confusion. He blushed sheepishly and scuffed his shoes as he offered the only excuse he could think of to answer for his outburst, "Uh, not all guys just want to use pretty girls…"

"I wasn't talking about you Danny," Valerie sighed and gave a half smile to the boy she had been avoiding of late, "I was talking about that ghost."

"Oh give it a rest," a new voice joined the arena as Sam closed her locker and turned to weather the looks of her peers, "We all know the bad stuff that the ghost kid's done, and we all know the good stuff…so what and who cares? Do you _have_ to have this argument every day, is it imperative to you being alive or something?"

"Who cares?" Valerie shot back as she turned to face her newest opponent, "So what? I happen to care! He's evil, just like all ghosts, and should be taken care of, that's what!"

"He is not evil!" Paulina stomped her foot, balling her fists by her sides, "He's done so much good and he's never tried anything with me. He's always a gentleman."

"Has anyone ever considered that maybe he's just some guy who died and turned into a ghost?" Sam's dry tones cut off the impending line of quarreling.

Blank looks met Sam's suggestion all around, several people displaying confusion, while Paulina and Valerie glared. Tucker shook his head as he leaned back against the wall to watch the situation play out, while Danny stood stock still, trying to figure out if Sam Manson was actually helping his case or hindering him more.

"Seriously," she continued, ignoring all the strange looks she was receiving, "I mean he's dead, yeah, but maybe he's just human."

"If he's dead, he isn't human," Valerie folded her arms and venomously shot back. Sam could only roll her eyes.

"I didn't mean literally, I just meant that maybe the things he does aren't always on purpose or his fault. He's always fighting other ghosts, what's to say they don't make life, or rather the afterlife, hard for him?"

"Because it was his dog that ruined my life!" Valerie lost her cool, glowering as she took two steps towards Sam, "I saw it with my own two eyes."

"We all heard that story," Sam replied calmly, folding her arms as she spoke, "It sounds to me like he was trying to train the mutt and couldn't control it. I'm not saying it's _not _his fault, I'm just saying that he probably makes mistakes like the rest of us."

Paulina took up the trend of folding her arms as she tried to defend the subject of their debate, "He doesn't make mistakes, he's perfect. It's probably a part of one of his brilliant plans."

"Yeah," Valerie mumbled under her breath, "to take over the world or something."

"You're both idiots," Sam snorted, "If he was some evil ghost, he wouldn't bother with saving people like he does."

"He doesn't save people," Valerie tried to argue back, but choked as she realized how lame her excuse was going to sound, "they just…get in his way and he moves them."

"He saves me!" Paulina glared, "Don't tell me he doesn't, I know that's the truth!"

"Yeah, because it's part of his scheme!"

"If that's the case, then why did he save me from a bunch of dead seafood the other day?"

"What?" Paulina rounded on Sam, and if looks could kill Sam would have been joining the local ghost population, "You're lying, my ghost boy wouldn't save _you_."

"Why would I lie?" Sam asked in confusion, upset that Paulina didn't think her worthy enough to be saved, 'What, she doesn't think that I'm a valuable enough human being?'

"Because you don't want to be wrong," Valerie joined in.

"That's the stupidest reason to lie that I've ever heard."

"He wouldn't save you, you're nothing to look at."

"Whatever Paulina," Sam hefted her backpack to make herself more comfortable, glaring at them both, "The point is, if he's such a bad guy, why would he ever go out of his way to 'move people' when he's fighting and if he's so great, why does he make mistakes?"

General murmuring met Danny's ears as the students around him began to discuss Sam's observations, who gave one last heated glare at the two other girls, before turning to march off, "I'm just sick and tired of everyone talking about this."

The doors slammed shut as the other two girls moved off, the debate ended for the day. Danny was still standing where he had been, staring at the doors where the dark girl had stormed out.

"That Manson chick totally just stood up for you…in like, a realistic way for once," Tucker leaned over to inform to his best friend, his mind already thinking up various plans that would help his best friend with his current girl problems, 'He and Valerie have already been avoiding each other, and all of a sudden him and Manson have been getting along...'

"Yeah…I saw that…" Danny agreed as he started for the doors, caught between confusion, gratefulness, and a tiny bit of anger that the only person who really stood up for him didn't even know him, 'Well, I'll just have to thank her somehow…and figure out what her deal is…'

"You gonna' talk to her?" Tucker grinned, watching his friend thinking hard on something.

"Definitely," Danny took a deep breath to screw up his courage as best he could, but found that it just wasn't happening, "but not like this…and uh, not just yet."

Tucker just chuckled as they both headed to the Nasty Burger for their afternoon snack. With Danny acting the way he was about this girl, that half-baked plan he had concocted in the hallway was started to sound better and better.


	4. Converse

**_The Art of Conversation  
_**By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Sorry this took so long, I've been so sick these past few days it isn't even funny. I caught one of those nasty head colds, then my Mom caught it, so we've both been laid up. But we're dorks, so of course we keep trying to decorate the house. It goes something like…decorate part of the room, sit down and rest because you're sick, start to decorate another part of the room, get into a sneezing and coughing fit, etc. We're quite the pair.

If anyone says anything about Sam's reaction in the very first part of this, I say go back and watch the very beginning of Mystery Meat, the first episode that aired. There's your proof of her reaction to her first attacking ghost, in the form of giant octopus thingies…and the shrimp don't count because they were small, lol.

Oh, lol, and I made fun of myself in this one kinda'. You just gotta' love the power an author has over the convenience in stories. Things just always seem to happen at just the right time! XD

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Four: Converse**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Today,' Sam thought distractedly to herself as she headed towards the cafeteria for a salad, 'has actually been going alright for a Friday. As in, not bad. Almost good even…something very interesting is about to happen.'

She wasn't necessarily pessimistic. Then again, she wasn't the most optimistic person, but she had her reasons for that. Sam preferred to think of herself as being a realistic person, not letting herself hope for too much, but not bemoaning life and all its follies every chance she got.

When a day went as well as hers had thus far, she just knew that something was going to happen. It wasn't always bad, but the feeling she had was reminiscent of the time her mother had come home and told her she had bought her a surprise. That happened nearly every other day, but that was beside the point.

It was a feeling of worry, or dread, her women's intuition telling her to be cautious for surely there was something about to go awry. Most of the school would probably think her 'feeling' was a premonition stemming from something occult or because she was so freaky. Sam just figured she was becoming finely attuned to the world around her.

Living with maniacal ghosts would do that to a person, or so she figured.

She made it to the cafeteria with no problems, was fine in getting her salad, and had little to no problems getting her dressing, napkins, and fork. She even found a seat in a nice, out of the way corner of the cafeteria. It was right by the trashcans and the door, so it was a convenient location.

It was when she stood up to throw away her trash that she realized that her feeling was about to prove true, as Phantom was slammed back through the doors, literally, by some strange shadow creature. He slid to a stop with the creature on top of him, not five feet in front of her. Sam had no where to go, unlike the rest of the student population who panicked and ran.

She was trapped, hurriedly working out a plan to get out of there in her mind, 'Okay, so the doors are directly in front of me and on the other side of the cafeteria. Problem is, the two fighting ghosts are also directly in front of me. There's a wall behind me, trashcans to my right, and a tablet to my left with all the chairs around it. My only way out is through the doors in front, unless I can get under the table without attracting attention. Phantom and that thing are up and fighting now…and I'd have to go between them to get out of here otherwise.'

"Shadow, get out of here!" Danny fired off another shot as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, "Tell Johnny that I didn't do anything to Kitty or _with _Kitty and I have no clue where she's at."

'Apparently 'Shadow' doesn't care,' Sam mused to herself as the creature lunged for Phantom again, only to be blasted back by a rather large green ray. Sam nearly squeaked in fright when it floated up with it's wicked eyes latched on her form, 'Why me? I haven't done anything but stand here…'

"Hey!" Phantom shouted, trying to regain the creature's attention, "Shadow!"

But he took no notice, the girl was too open, too close, and way too tempting to ignore.

He lunged and Sam reacted as quickly as she could, swinging the textbook she had in her hands around to slam into the black thing's head. It didn't do much, but it did cause it to pause for a second as it registered the fact that the petite girl had just dared attack it.

It lunged one more time, but slammed into a glowing wall of green that had formed in front of Sam seemingly from nowhere as her book fell to the ground. Her head shot over to see Phantom's green eyes widened slightly, as though he was afraid of something, and his right hand thrust out. It seemed that Sam had given him the time he needed to react and save her.

"You're supposed to be fighting with me!" he lunged towards Shadow again and caught him with a solid right hook, then summoned a massive ball of brightly glowing, green energy. The creature shrank away from it, fearing the light it produced, "Not so tough now, huh?"

As Danny chunked the energy towards it, it turned and fled as quickly as it could, not wishing to get torn apart that day. Letting out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding Sam took a few steps back and leaned heavily on one of the tables.

"Are you okay?"

He was walking, not floating, and looking so very tired. That was the first thing that Sam noticed, 'I didn't know that ghosts could get tired…but I guess they use energy when they fight. Maybe they have to rest to build it back up…'

"Hey," a gloved hand waved in front of her face, "You alright?"

"Fine," Sam forced her attention back to the present situation, shaking her head and moving away from Phantom slightly, "I'm fine…I just…what was that thing?"

"Shadow," the ghost-teen frowned deeply, looking back towards where it had escaped, "It's the shadow creature of a ghost named Johnny 13. He's a bad luck ghost and apparently his girlfriend's gone missing again and he blames me…_again_."

"Why?"

"I don't really know," Danny shook his head and moved away from the girl, "She used me once to…well, never mind. I probably had better go."

"Okay," was all that Sam got out, before remembering her manners, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving me, again, with that shield thing and…"

"Nah," Danny waved her off, then chuckled tiredly, "You were doing alright by yourself. You sure gave him a whack to the face. Remind me to never get you mad."

"I didn't really even think about it," Sam paled as she realized exactly what she had done, "I mean, I didn't even know I could hurt a ghost…"

"Sure," Danny shrugged, "You shook my hand the other day, which means you could touch me. If you can touch something, you can hurt it."

"I guess."

"Are you sure you're alright, you seem like you're a little weirded out," Danny watched her shake her head in agreement. It was probably just the shock of coming face to face with her first dangerous, attacking ghost, "You had better hurry…you're late enough as it is to your next class."

"Right," Sam grabbed her book from where she had dropped it, "Thanks again…"

And she was out the door and off to class…and late. Which meant that he was late. Today was already looking like a bad sort of day, but then again, he had been thanked. Again.

He had also gotten to play hero and save a life. That always made him feel good; actually getting to save someone from danger. So he would wind up getting detention for being late? Maybe it wouldn't be too horrible of a day after all if things kept on this way.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Again?" Sam raised her eyebrow in question as Danny Fenton made his way into the classroom, looking tired and worn…and maybe with a hint of a blush at her question.

"Well, yeah," the boy slumped into a seat beside her, "Not like I like being in here every day."

"You're in here every day?" Sam's incredulous reply came, her attention swinging between the boy and her spiral notebook.

"Yeah, but it's not because of…"

"What was that?" she had heard him mumble something, but didn't quite catch it all. She began to wonder when he blushed even harder what exactly he was in detention for…the last time it was…oh. Oh yeah. She was about to start sporting a blush of her own when he finally cleared his throat and answered her.

"I said, yeah I am, but it isn't because of indecent exposure that I get put here every day," his sigh brought her back to contemplating his disheveled and tired countenance, "I just have the worst luck in the world…all the time."

"How's that even possible?" Sam laughed.

"Let's just say that a ghost crossed my path a long time ago," Danny winced mentally and eyed her carefully to gauge her reaction after his statement. He was walking on dangerous ground, what with his earlier interaction with her and all. He'd definitely have to be careful.

"Wouldn't happen to have a name would it?"

"Uh, I don't really remember…" he stuttered, looking at her sideways as she bent over something she was doing in her notebook, 'Geeze, does this girl remember _everything_? We had this conversation at lunch, and that was like four hours ago!'

"Oh well," she shrugged, looking up to give him the briefest of smiles before bending back over her doodle. She loved to doodle in her spare time when she was bored, and had been giving her attention to several ghost related ones since lunch. It seemed that ghosts were bound and determined to make an impact on her life, and who was she to ignore that?

"Whatcha' doing?"

Her hand automatically slapped over her drawings, so used to people ridiculing her sketches was she. Her parents thought it was a waste of time, other kids pestered her about it, and teachers just gave her detention for not paying attention. She looked up and found herself staring into a pair of questioning baby blues.

"I just wanted to know," he laughed as he tried to peer at the bits that her small hands couldn't cover, "and you could have just said they were private or something. They look good…or at least what I can see does."

"Thanks for the compliment," Sam eyed him wearily, trying to size him up. He was always polite when they bumped into one another, and the few short times they'd ever exchanged words he was always amiable, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to show you…but I swear if you laugh I'll do something horrible to you."

"Like what?" Danny smirked, "Trust me, nothing can compare with some of the stuff I've been through."

Sam gave him one last look, then eased her hand from the page. It was mostly covered in quick drawings of all the ghosts she had ever personally seen, ranging from the Box Ghost flying past her window with boxes following him to a rather skewered picture of Ember.

Sam obviously hadn't been a fan when she came to town.

A quiet chuckle had begun on her left, and she was suddenly second guessing her choice. When he burst out laughing, she felt like sinking through the floor and disappearing for a while, 'If only I could. Jerk, what right does he have to laugh at my drawings…they're just stupid doodles.'

"I…I promise I'm not laughing at your stuff," Danny got out, leaning back as she took a rather violent swing at him, "It's just that…that's Ember isn't it?"

"Yeah," Sam growled, feeling a lot less hostile and a lot more hurt than she was acting, 'Why do I care if he's laughing? So I thought he was nice, and I was wrong? It's not like it hasn't happened before.'

"I _hated _her when she came to Amity Park," Danny shook his head as he slid the notebook from her desk to look at it closer, taking advantage of her shocked state, "I thought I was the only person who didn't like her. I mean my friend, Tucker Foley, man he was drooling over her practically…"

'Tucker Foley…now where have I heard that name in connection to Ember…' Sam pondered this for a moment as she watched the boy beside her peruse her sketches and doodles, "Hey, wasn't Tucker Foley the one who wrecked the internationally broadcast concert with his singing?"

'Jesus, she really does remember everything,' Danny shot her a quizzical look, then thought better of staring at her in favor of answering and flipping through her spiral, "Oh well, yeah he did, but it _was _pretty funny…"

"Just tell him I said thank you for doing that, even if he had no intention of wrecking her plans," she smirked and went to take her notebook back, only to find it pulled out of her reach. She tried again, but he just shook a finger at her, 'Why that jerk!' and kept on glancing at one particular page he had stopped on.

'Well, I'm glad I forgot to tell her thank you this afternoon when I had the chance,' Danny found himself staring at a particularly accurate sketch of himself in ghost form, 'Man…she's cute, but I really don't need another fan girl. Wait, that's against the rules. No thinking other girls are cute, Fenton, you're with Valerie…'

"What are you frowning at?" her sharp demand pulled him back from his thoughts. She looked very upset, almost hurt, and he was suddenly wondering if people often made fun of her drawings. From the way she was acting, that was the most likely case.

"I just didn't peg you as fan of him," he turned the notebook around so she could see the sketch he was supposedly contemplating.

"Fan?" Sam's face scrunched as she rolled her eyes, "I'm not your average, shallow, hormone crazed, boy needing teenage girl."

"So, you _don't _like him?" Danny tried to puzzle out the girl before him, not sure whether he should be relieved or insulted, 'Okay, so maybe I shouldn't thank her for a _different _reason.'

"I never said that," Sam finally got her spiral back from him, "I just meant I'm not all in lust with him, like certain preppy cheerleaders. I think he's an okay guy, I mean, he's saved me twice…and the whole town more times than I care to think about. It's just that I don't know him all that well, and I'm not the type of person who will make a snap judgment of a person without learning a bit about them first."

'Okay, definitely owe her a thank you and an apology for 'making a snap judgment without learning a bit about' her first.'

Danny stared at her for a few seconds before making his own snap decision, vowing to try not to make snap judgments any longer. She had been kind enough to allow him to peruse her doodles, he might as well suck it up and pay her back. She had been hurt by his remarks and attitude after all, he owed her the chance to do so back to him.

"What's this?"

"Just my notebook," Danny grinned as she opened it, "chock-full of doodles that you can make fun of if you want. I don't mind, and I kinda' deserve it."

"I'm not going to make fun of them," Sam pushed the notebook back towards him, "and I don't want to see your doodles if you're just showing them to me out of guilt."

"Well," Danny smiled, "think of it as something out of friendship then. I mean…well…"

As he began to rub the back of his neck, Sam tried to keep from laughing, figuring that they were probably close enough to being friends without declaring it as they could be, "Out of friendship then. Hand it over."

"Hello students," Lancer eyed the pair as they quickly jerked around to face the front instead of one another, "Ah. Only two today, for being late from lunch. Today, we will have a study period, six weeks exams are only a few more days away after all."

'Late from lunch, huh? Wonder where he ran off to during lunch. He missed a heck of a ghost fight,' Sam smirked to herself as she opened Danny's notebook and began to scan the pages. He was known as a C average student, who always slept in classes and failed to turn in his homework, but judging from the notes that were present he was actually quite intelligent.

'Of course, they're all incomplete, probably from where he falls asleep,' Sam turned another page to read over his math notes, 'but he even has methods of solving equations that they haven't taught us yet.'

"Ms. Manson," Lancer stood hovering over her shoulder, "Why do you have young Mr. Fenton's spiral notebook?"

"Oh, I was just letting her borrow it to get my notes from history," Danny laughed nervously as he cut into the conversation, "The one class I didn't fall asleep in. We have the same teacher, just in a different period."

"Pray tell why she's reading over your math notes then?"

"I just got kinda' distracted by the doodles," Sam played it up for all she was worth to save both their hides, "They're actually kinda' good. I really like this one."

"Let's just get back to the studying, please?" Mr. Lancer turned from them then and walked back to his desk. His eyes watched them carefully, as Sam flipped to the pages with Danny's history notes and his other student started searching his backpack for a book to read.

'They really are good,' Sam began glancing over his sketches, taking in just how many were of ghosts like hers were, 'Okay, so that's a little strange that we've both been drawing ghosts, though we are in Amity…he even has some I've never seen before…wait a minute.'

Of course, Danny had forgotten to draw one of the most prominent figures amongst the ghosts of Amity Park, being as he _was_ that particular ghost. Sam didn't have a clue however, and she began to quickly, and quietly, scour through all the pages, trying to find a sketch or doodle of the infamous Phantom.

As Sam glanced between the boy and his notebook, she began to try and decipher his earlier statements when he was teasing her for her drawings, 'He didn't sound like he was against Phantom or anything, but maybe he's just apathetic.'

"Mr. Lancer?"

"Yes?" the man turned to answer the intercom system, "Is there something you need Ms. Banks?"

"There are two students in the office who were caught behind the gym fighting over a suspicious bag," the crackling made all three present cringe, "You're needed in the office immediately to help Principal Ishiyama."

"I'll be back shortly Mr. Fenton, Ms. Manson, so please behave," Lancer opened the door, then turned back with a thoughtful look on the face, "And remind me to look into a new intercom system."

"Convenient," Sam commented quietly as she watched the door click shut.

Danny just shrugged, "It happens. A lot, really, but I guess that's Amity Park for you."

"So," Sam flipped back through the notes one last time, "Noticed you like to draw ghosts too."

"And?"

"Why?" Sam returned the notebook, a curious glint to her eyes, "I know why I draw them, but what's your reason? Get attacked a lot, have something to do with your parents who hunt ghosts, or other?"

"Playing Spanish Inquisition?" Danny laughed to himself, then trailed off nervously as he realized his mistake, 'Crap! I did it again!'

"Maybe," Sam answered in amusement, "Fan of the British are we?"

"Oh yeah," Danny replied lamely as he tried to recall a conversation from weeks past and keep his wits about him, "Monty Python's okay, but I've never gotten to actually watch anything all the way through."

Truth was, Danny was being honest in this case. He had happened upon some strange Monty's Python show late one night and watched part of it before heading off to fight another errant ghost. While he had enjoyed the dry humor, most things he didn't understand, and the whole show seemed rather like the actors and writers were on crack.

"You really should," Sam pulled out her own book to get a head start on her homework assignment, "They're pretty funny once you start to understand what they're talking about or making fun of. My favorite is Monty Python's Flying Circus. It's the television series they did. It was like Saturday Night Live or Mad TV before we had those here in America. I still think Monty Python is better, but that's a personal opinion."

"One to be admired I'm sure," Lancer stepped back into the room, "but I believe the assignment was to study?"

The pair returned to their own silent worlds then and spent the rest of detention involved intimately with math, history, language, and science. That is to say, they spent the rest of detention bored out of their minds and wishing for a way to escape it.

The clock finally happened upon four, and the two teens were up and out of the door before Lancer even had the chance to change his mind about letting them go. They raced off with a shout of, "New intercoms Mr. Lancer!" from Sam and a quite chuckle from the boy beside her.

"Man, I thought detention would never end today," Danny stretched as they walked down the hall towards the doors, "It seems to go by slower and slower."

"It wasn't too bad," Sam shrugged and moved to hold her books in front of her instead of under one arm, "At least I got most of my homework done before I got home. _And_, we didn't have to write an essay on truancy."

"I've written so many of those," the young man started laughing as he spoke, "that Lancer would be able to turn it into a book and sell it. I write at least one a week."

"You really _are _in detention every day aren't you?" Sam frowned thoughtfully as she slowed down to consider the teen beside her, "I mean, I never see you do after school stuff, or walking around, or anything."

"It's no big deal," and they both stopped for a second in front of a locker, and Danny started to fiddle with the combination, "Anyways, it's one of the only places I can get any of my homework done. Whatever I finish there is what gets turned in."

Sam didn't have to say anything. All she had to do was raise one eyebrow and give the boy a puzzled look and he was off and explaining while grabbing some strange things from his locker.

"Well," out came a metal thermos and a tube of what appeared to be lipstick, "my Mom and Dad are ghost hunters, you know that."

She nodded and he pulled out a spare set of clothes, "They're also inventors and like to make tons of ghost hunting equipment. And it all likes me for some reason…it's like playing dodge ball at home every evening unless my sister, Jazz, sabotages whatever they're working on."

"That's why that's the only game you're good at in gym, huh?"

"One of the reasons," the halfa smiled good naturedly, dragging out a chewed up dog toy and stuffing all the removed items into his backpack, which Sam watched with avid interest, "Heh, yeah, this is all just ghost hunting stuff…my, uh, parents like me to be prepared, even though I'm scared to death of ghosts…"

Danny didn't know what to do when Sam leaned in closer, a piercing look on her face as she searched his eyes. She frowned at first, then smirked a little as she pulled back. Danny didn't know when he'd done it, but he was leaning back against his open locker and realized it was a bit uncomfortable.

Not that he wasn't used to it with Dash…

"I get it," Sam smirked, a triumphant air about her, "You're lying to me."

"Wh-what?" Danny's hand shot to the back of his neck as he tried his hardest to lie to the girl with the strange amethyst eyes, "What gave you that idea…I mean, what would I have to lie about?"

"You're lying, and I know because you're acting funny," Sam rolled her eyes and shut his locker for him, "I bet I even know your dirty little secret."

Danny was never one to let verbal shots get to him, but he had to admit that it hurt thinking she had just called his alter-ego a 'dirty' secret, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on," the girl shifted her books again and looked him square in the eye, "it's obvious, with the ghost hunting things and the extra change of clothes, and even though I'm note sure what lipstick has to do with anything, alternative lifestyles are a personal choice. If you want to play hero and be a ghost hunter like you're parents, I'm not gonna' tell anyone."

Danny felt as though his jaw should be dropping off about now, 'She…she got it wrong. She's close, but…Well, at least she doesn't think it's a 'dirty' secret for real.'

"Shut your mouth or flies'll get in," Sam laughed and started to walk, amusedly noticing he started to follow her with a blank expression on his face, "I promise I won't say anything. I know your girlfriend probably wouldn't like it."

"More than you know," Danny finally managed to snap out of it, "and that's something I definitely don't need with the way things are going."

"That bad?" Sam shot him a sympathetic look as he winced slightly, "I know we're not all that close or anything, but if you ever need to talk I'll listen. Might do you some good to get a girl's perspective on things. You're friend Tucker's probably a good listener, but he's just a guy."

"Thanks, but I'll pass. This is just something I need to work out on my own," Danny pushed the door opened and held it for her and ended up listening to her mutter something about it being the twenty first century and she could open her own doors, but thank you anyways, it was very nice.

Danny just chuckled.

"Well, I gotta' run," Sam smiled as they walked down the steps, "I have to make it home before my parents actually realized I stayed late. It usually takes a little longer than an hour, but you never know."

"Yeah," Danny smiled back, "See ya' at school on Monday."

"Oh school, hurrah," and she was off with a sarcastic smile.

The young man turned to go, but looked back to watch the odd girl head off in her own direction. She certainly was her own individual, 'Unique. She's very unique…'

"Yeah, I like to watch girls walk too," Tucker had managed to sneak up behind him and caught him in a rough, but friendly, headlock, "Better watch it, or Valerie'll snap you for checking out other girls."

"Get off," Danny flipped the boy over his shoulder with a frown, "and I wasn't checking her out. I was just…trying to figure her out."

"Thanked her yet, or have you kept on being a big chicken about admitting that too?" he pulled his glasses off his face and gave them a good cleaning while he lay in the dirt where Danny had flipped him. He already knew the answer, 'Just gotta' rub it in a bit more before he actually gets fed up with me and does it…'

"I'm gonna' do it tomorrow sometime," he offered his best friend a hand and hauled him to his feet. He was starving and his stomach let him know with a loud rumble, causing both boys to laugh, "To the Nasty Burger?"

"To the Nasty Burger and the meaty goodness that is the quadruple meat layered, with bacon, cheese, bacon, sliced onions, and bacon heart attack hamburger!"

Tucker enjoyed himself the entire rest of the day and when they parted ways he was assured he would get a good night's sleep. Danny felt sure he wasn't going to get a wink of sleep.

Tomorrow was going to be one interesting Saturday.


	5. Small Talk

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Um, next chapter! Lots of love to you all and thanks for everything. Enjoy!  
PS-Not edited...but then again, when are my chapters ever edited:P

Oh, I'm going to try to get out two chapters a day. We shall see, lol. I kinda' want to get this done before I have to leave for camp. Let's hope I can!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Five: Small Talk  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

It was really turning out to be a horrible day Sam noted as the first traces of rain spilled themselves across her cheeks and hair, pattering softly on the book she was trying to read through. Her Saturday was spent now, and she promptly picked herself up from the soft grass of the park and pushed her library book into her backpack that she had brought along with her.

The rain fell even more heavily as she skittered from the park and ran towards the Nasty Burger for some form of shelter and possibly even something to eat. Her legs propelled her faster along the road before a sudden ball of ice shattered a foot or so in front of her causing her to jerk back and push herself up against the wall of one of the local businesses.

The first thing that Sam noticed was the sudden drop in temperature and that the hail wasn't melting. It was cool now, much cooler than the eighty degrees it had been when she had exited the library and made her way to the park. The second thing she noticed was that no matter how hard the rounded ice balls smashed into concrete, brick walls, or other hard surfaces they always appeared to stay round. This, in Sam's mind, pointed towards a ghostly influence to the rather unusual weather.

A stray piece of hail came straight down the wall she was pressed against and slammed against Sam's left shoulder blade, causing her to hiss her discomfort and jerk her backpack up over her head to protect herself as best she could.

'That is definitely going to be an ugly bruise,' she shifted uncomfortably, rolling her shoulder to try and ease the stinging sensation she was feeling.

Sam's teeth started to chatter as she noticed a third rather odd thing happening. The people who were huddled against walls were disappearing in ones and twos. It started with those who had nothing to hide under and then moved on to those who were like herself, hiding under odd objects and stuffing themselves into any crevice they could find.

In face, she seemed to be the last person standing on the street, her arms aching from holding her bag, body shivering and shoulder blade aching from the unlucky pummeling she had undergone. All that, however, quickly changed as cold hands landed on her, one on her shoulder, the other around her waist. She was suddenly in a storeroom of some sort and bewildered beyond comprehension.

"You alright?"

'That voice is really starting to seem familiar,' Sam turned with a glare to find herself face to face with nothing. Startled, she mutely nodded before finding herself upset once more, "You know these past few weeks I've been rescued more times by _you_ than I have ever been or needed to be."

"So, you're blaming me?"

Was it her, or did that voice sound unduly hurt?

"No, I'm not blaming you," Sam shivered again and gingerly lifted her arm to test her shoulder, "It's just weird."

"Welcome to my world," his face finally melted into view, as did the rest of him, "Your shoulder okay?"

"Fine," she grunted, moving the joint about, "It's bruised and sore, but not bad. I'll live, thanks."

At her thanks Phantom looked troubled, glancing between the wall and the girl and amusing Sam to no end as a pout settled on his face.

"Listen, uh," he glanced one more time at her before facing the wall, "I wanted to talk with you, but…ya' know, I kinda' have some butt to kick. I'll find you later, okay?"

And before Sam could reply he was gone. Crashes, shouts, and maniacal laughter were heard outside as she crept her way from the storeroom and out the shattered window of Larry's Luxury Luggage, 'Phantom must've been pulling people into whatever building was closest to them.'

A cry of "Shut up!" and a large green flash later, the sky cleared and the temperature started to rise again. Sam continued to rub her shoulder as she skipped the Nasty Burger and instead headed home. The one thing on her mind was not her unfinished book or even the bruise on her shoulder. Instead it was now running circles around the simple question, 'Why in the world does Phantom want to talk to me?'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Alright Danny, what do you want?"

Tucker watched his best friend who was looking more uncomfortable by the second as he was being watched across the room by his girlfriend.

"Danny?" Tucker continued to watch as Valerie tapped her foot as she sat on Danny's bed, "Chat later, we need to go."

"Hold on Val," Danny frowned, irritated with her demand, "Wait for me downstairs alright? I didn't even know you wanted to go out tonight and I have some things I need to take care of first. I promise I'll be right there, I just need to ask Tucker something."

"Fine," and Tucker watched with repressed laughter as she stomped out of the room, shutting the door a little harder than necessary. Of course, as soon as she was gone, he let loose and gained a rather hasty glare from Danny and a half-hearted, "Shut up, Tuck."

"So, what's up," the other boy adjusted his web cam, and smiled, "I know you didn't stall your date and piss off your girlfriend for no reason."

"She is pretty pissed," he shot a glance at his door, "I keep pissing her off and I don't mean to. Things just keep popping up and I keep sticking my foot in my mouth. She isn't helping either, with these stupid surprise dates and all the phone calls…"

"Man, I don't know what to tell you," he readjusted his cap, watching with interest as Danny looked away, "Well…just ask your question so you can go make her happy again."

"Uh, well…," a noticeable blush appeared as he stammered out his question, "Do you know where Sam Manson lives?"

"Oh, I get it," Tucker smirked slyly, "You still haven't thanked her. You know you don't have to, right? She'd never know if you didn't."

"Yeah, but," Danny's brow furrowed as he worked out a way to voice what he was feeling, "I'd know. The point is _I'd _know she stuck up for me and _I'd _know that I never said thank you."

"Whatever," Tucker laughed, glad to see his friend's hero mind-set unaffected by Valerie's attitude, "Go on your date and I'll text it to you when I find it."

"Thanks a bunch," the halfa smiled, "I'll owe you."

As the screen blinked off, Tucker pulled up a web page for the school and began his search, quietly laughing to himself. He knew when his best friend was lying to himself, and right now Danny was in Egypt, 'Right next to de Nile…'

They quiet tap of keys filled the silence as Tucker wondered at Valerie's actions. Their relationship was straining, as it had been for quite a while. Between the stress a girl could normally induce and the fear of being found out, Tucker figured that Danny would only be with her for a short while more.

'But,' Tucker thought happily, 'That's good because he's got another girl in his life whether he knows it or not. Watch out Val, the tiny Goth is about to sock it to you.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Valerie was picking at her food.

Danny sighed as he laid his fork down, chicken lo mein forgotten for the moment. The girl in front of him was unhappy and he felt like a jerk and a failure. Wasn't it his job to keep her happy?

But that thought stopped him in his tracks.

'It shouldn't be a job,' he sighed as she smiled tiredly and went back to eating, 'It shouldn't be this hard. I've tried everything and I don't know what to do anymore.'

"You're not gonna' finish?"

He had been staring at the table top for two minutes when her question snapped him back to reality, "Yeah, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

God, why did she sound like that? Bored or uncaring or something in between.

"Nothing," and the silence fell again.

As soon as dinner was finished they parted ways. Valerie said she had homework to get to , that it was better if she walked by herself, and Danny made no argument. He said he had an errand to run. Only one of them was lying.

Both of them were hurting.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The text had come halfway into dinner, but he had ignored it in favor of being a good boyfriend. It would have started a fight for one thing, and for another, he wanted to focus on Valerie tonight.

The phone call came halfway to the unfamiliar address Danny was trying to find.

"Hello," he smiled, a feeling of small hope flaming up as Valerie's voice appeared on the other end of the line, "What are you doing, calling me when you should be doing homework young lady?"

Valerie chuckled at his joking manner, "I'm a rule breaker sometimes, and honestly," and she faltered for a second.

"Honestly, I didn't have homework Danny," and at his humorless half laugh, "but you figured that out, huh?"

"Not really," he shrugged as he kept moving, "but it's not a big deal, we were both kinda' stuffy tonight."

"Danny," Valerie's gentle voice stopped him, "We act 'kinda' stuffy' all the time now-a-days. Something's wrong…"

"I know," the halfa admitted heavily as he sank to sit on the curb, "I don't feel like we're all that close anymore."

"You don't know how relieved that I'm not the only one of us that feels that way," and her relief was evident in her tone, "I still really like you. You're the sweetest guy I know."

"I still like you too Val," a weary hand rubbed at the ache forming in his temple, "It's not working, is it?"

"No."

"I don't' want to just give up though."

"Danny," she soothed gently, "If anything I'm the one wanting to give up. I have…other things interfering with us and stressing me out."

"I know," Danny smiled at the phone, knowing only too well what she meant by 'other things', "but maybe we shouldn't give up all the way?"

"Let's just see what happens, okay? Time off and all that," she sounded a little too happy for Danny's taste, but she could have been forcing it for all he knew, "I'll see you later, alright? Bye."

"Bye Val," and the line went dead. No, 'good night' or 'sweet dreams' or any little parting s that used to make the end of their nighttime phone conversations. Honestly though, they hadn't said such things for a few weeks now, so Danny really wasn't surprised.

'Time off,' Danny sat and let the thought sink in. He was a bit confused, torn between not caring and being hurt and humiliated.

Hurt from being dumped, in a manner of speaking. Humiliated that it had happened to him after all the time he had spent trying to make their relationship work. Sad that he had somehow lost, though what he wasn't sure, and suddenly a feeling of slight relief.

It washed over him as he realized how much he had started to resent her because she so hated his alter ego. Maybe if he could let it go, 'I was starting to really hate her for that…'

Shaking his head and cataloguing the thoughts for later, Danny stood and started walking again. He had errands to run, and just maybe they would take his mind off the sudden separation of Valerie and himself. It was after all, just a separation of sorts, and things might eventually smooth back out.

Either way, Danny decided a distraction would be fine right now. He spared one last thought to the situation between Valerie and himself, and sneered a bit at how confusing it was getting, 'Can't I just find a girl who likes me as I am? Does everything have to be complicated?'

That thought led back to what Valerie had said, about time off, and about giving up. That all led to one last thought before he thrust his hands into his pockets and started his search again, 'Ouch.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Ouch."

The greenish-yellow tinged edges to her blackish-purple bruise held Sam's rapt attention as she gently prodded it and followed through with a whine. Poking it only proved it was there and changed its color for a moment.

The strap of her tank top began to tickle the part of her arm it had fallen against prompting Sam to finish her examination and turn around to face her bathroom mirror fully. Eyes, nose, mouth, ears, it was all there.

There was nothing spectacularly startling, ominous, beautiful, or haunting about any of her features. Yes, she'd go so far to say she was pretty, her nose possibly cute. Nothing hideous nor anything about herself that she disliked…

…except that one piece of hair that fell into her eyes. That she could do without.

Still, she could find nothing in particular that would warrant a ghost's attention in her, and this was beginning to bother her. Why Sam Manson? She'd asked herself that often enough the past few hours she'd been home that evening. She'd suddenly been more involved in ghost attacks in this one month than she had the past two years that they'd been happening.

So why now, and why her? Sam just couldn't get the nagging question out of her mind and it was driving her nuts!

"Samantha dear!"

"For once, I can say thank God for my overbearing, vicariously living, _distracting_ parents."

As Sam slipped out of her room to find her mother, Danny popped his head in and watched her leave. He was feeling antsy enough as it was and the momentary reprieve was welcome. He wanted to think her, he honestly did, he was just too much of a coward to come straight out and say it. That's why he was happy he had a few more minutes to strengthen his resolve.

"Man, who am I kidding?" he floated gently for a few minutes, just inside her window as he observed the cloud covered sky above, "I'm a chicken, and I should just leave."

"If you leave without telling me why the heck you're in my room, I'll have to find some way to really hurt you."

The young man snapped his head around so fast he swore he heard a pop. Sam Manson was in a fine mood, with burning eyes and an angry tilt to her lips, and seemed to be demanding an answer from him, "Uh, well…I was just gonna' say…um."

"Say what?" Sam frowned, extremely uncomfortable with him floating in her bedroom, "You can say it and leave."

"Alright," he shifted from his wisp-like tail to feet then stood his ground in front of her. She stared back, tense and not quite knowing what to expect.

"Thank you."

She certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"Come again?" her voice lost its edge to her confusion and she unfolded her arms. Slightly more relaxed, she let her eyes drift over his fidgeting form, 'He's nervous?'

"Heh, well, you see," he blushed as he found himself stuttering and his thoughts racing between, 'She's in her nightclothes!' to 'I shouldn't have just barged into her room like this!' It suddenly seemed very, very stupid of him.

"I wanted to thank you sooner," he started, hoping it would get easier as he talked, "but stuff kept happening, and this was the first chance I've had to find you. I mean, I just got done with a date that didn't really go well but…"

Of course he trailed off, face red and praying she hadn't noticed his wince or his slip in which he mentioned a date. Ghost didn't generally seem the type to date, and for some reason he didn't really want to tell her that he was involved.

"Wait, ghosts date?" It seemed the more boyish he acted the more comfortable she felt. It was almost like having a normal conversation with a boy, except for the glowing, floating, echoing voice, and shock white hair and green eyes, 'Okay, so maybe it's not really like talking to a guy my age, but it's close…in a weird way.'

"Some do," he shook his head trying to get images of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady out of his head, "Anyways, just…thanks."

"What for?" she tilted her head a bit as she sunk to sit on the edge of her bed, "I mean, I didn't exactly help you in the cafeteria or anything, and today I got pulled out of a storm, big whoop. No need to thank me for that."

"Well," he awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck as he sat in her computer chair, "I could say thank you for not screaming or running away in fear every time you see me."

"But you're not," Sam pointed out as she frowned, "You wouldn't have just said that otherwise."

"Yeah," the ghost in front of her chuckled as she pushed back the stray lock of hair that was getting in her eyes, "What I was actually thanking you for, was when you stood up for me at your school. You didn't try to make me into some sort of hero, and you didn't pin me for a criminal either. That really meant a lot. People don't stop and try to see it from my point of view very often."

The girl before him just sat studying the ghost in front of her for a few moments. White hair, green eyes, and other ghostly attributes aside, he looked like a teenage boy in a jumpsuit. Plain black and white seemed to be his theme, and it seemed to suit him well. She found herself wondering again, what had happened to him to cause him to become a ghost.

She was amused to find that the longer she studied him the more he twitched his gloved fingers against his thigh and tapped his foot.

"You're welcome," she said slowly, a small smirk and a hint of confusion on her face, "but how did you know?"

"I was there," he answered honestly, before trying to alvage his secret, "Kinda' there…um, invisibly and passing through kinda' there. Plus a little bird told me I should thank you…so I did."

"A little bird? Phantom," Sam eyed him dryly, "I'm not in elementary and I'm pretty sure you weren't either when you…passed. No need to patronize me."

"Passed?" the boy puzzled over for a minute before his eyes lit with understanding and he laughed, "Oh you mean…huh."

"Well, I got to finish up, um, some homework," Sam stood up, slightly worried that she had brought up bad memories for the young ghost, "and I need the computer…"

"Oh sure," he stood and walked away from the chair, then neatly folded his legs beneath him to float, "Mind if I ask you a question real quick?"

"Knock yourself out." It wasn't everyday that she had her own ghost floating in her room. The kids who hung out at the local Goth café would be jealous if they knew

"Really?" he had expected her to kick him out, not let him float around her room in the middle of the night, "Well, why don't you think I'm a bad guy?"

The hum of the computer behind her signaled its starting and she turned to shrug her shoulders at him, "If you were really a 'bad guy' you wouldn't take the time to save people or coax the ghost you're fighting away from populated areas. Then again, if you were some sort of 'superhero' you wouldn't have attacked the mayor or anything like that."

Sam turned back around to type in her password then, "The way I figure it, you're just a normal kid, well ghost kid, trying to figure life out. You've made mistakes, but you're not evil or anything."

"I didn't attack the mayor."

The sentence was heavy, laced with frustration and repressed anger. The hair on the back of Sam's neck stood as she felt pinpricks of electricity , more than likely caused by the ghost behind her becoming agitated. She was almost afraid to look.

Almost, but not really.

She turned to see his eyes burning a brighter green, and his hands curled into fists at his side, "I hate it when people assume that was me. I'd never do anything like that, and I hate Walker for making people think I would."

'Obviously hit a nerve Sam, way to go,' she scolded herself as she moved her chair back slightly, bumping her desk and making various items click and rattle, "Uh…sorry to bring up bad memories."

A sigh and all the electricity in the air seemed to vanish, "It's fine and I'm sorry about getting upset. It's just frustrating, you know? There have been _tons_ of things that I've been accused of, even when I'm not around."

"I'm starting to see why you were so impressed with what I said."

She didn't dare turn back to her computer now. Sure he had saved her several time, was usually civil, and had just apologized, but that little display was more than enough to make her cautious.

"I'm really sorry," he tiredly repeated as he stood mid-air, noticing how wary she was being of him, "I didn't mean to…I mean, I'll get going. Thanks for letting me talk and putting up with me."

"Sure," Sam stood too, only to realize she couldn't exactly show her unexpected guest to the door, "Well, see you around then."

"Probably," he smiled tightly, then vanished. Sam dropped back into her chair. Suddenly she was a little too tired an little too confused for homework. One thing about Phantom, he always left her with more confusion than she started with.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

7:55, Monday morning and Sam was tiredly pulling the last book from her locker, absently taking in the world around her as she listened to the flow of others' conversations.

"So how was your date on Saturday?"

"Not the best, and we both had to leave early and then she called me and said we needed to take some time off. Then I had to run my errand so I did, but that didn't turn out right…Saturday just sucked."

Sam slammed her locker shut, causing several people to jump and look her way as she whirled around to find herself looking at Pha…Fenton?

Danny Fenton. And his friend Foley, both of whom were staring at her like everyone else, 'But I swore, he sounded just like Phantom!'

Her eyes were wide and she opened her mouth slightly as if she were going to say something, then thought better of it. Color rushed to her cheeks as she quickly left the hallway, mortified that she had almost called Danny Fenton, Phantom.

'Okay, either I'm starting to get obsessed for some weird reason, or I'm way too paranoid about random visits from ghosts,' she frowned as she entered her class and sat down, head on her desk, '_or_ Danny sounds a lot like Phantom, which is weird, but possible, minus the echo-y voice thing.'

As Sam pondered the last possibility in Math, Danny sat beside Tucker in history in a near panic, "She _looked_ at me Tucker."

"Dude, chill," he smirked, "You just said you and Valerie were on the off, and a hot girl looked at you, you should be happy man."

"No Tucker," he nervously started bouncing his foot, "She _looked_ at me, like I was supposed to be _someone else_."

Upon hearing the emphasis, Tucker started to process what possibly could have occurred, "That's not good, but I doubt it. Maybe she just isn't a morning person and we were being too loud, and she got mad?"

"I…guess so," Danny let it go, but couldn't quite shake the feeling that Sam had expected a Phantom, not a Fenton, "I hope so."


	6. Repartee

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Um…another chapter! Yay!  
Not edited, so have fun pointing out grammatical and punctuation errors…

Enjoy.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Six: Repartee  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey little brother where are you off to?" Jazz dodged Danny as he shot around the corner and grabbed a slice of toast off the plate she had just set on the table, pulled his belt tight and slid it through it's buckle, and jerked his backpack off the chair he had left it on last night.

"Running late, homework not done, ghost, got to go, talk to you later Jazz," and he was out the door with a half smile to his sister as she pondered his rush. It was becoming an everyday thing, and Jazz wondered how in the world he managed. With a smile to herself at how he was maturing, she sat herself down to her breakfast, now minus one piece of toast.

Of course, that one piece of toast would cost him, and the price would be her not telling him that he had two different tennis shoes on. Oh yes, revenge could be sweet.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"God, today sucks," Danny slid his backpack off and shoved it violently into his locker. The ghost that morning and not getting to finish his homework had been enough, or so he had thought, but apparently he had to deal with another ghost on the way to school, not be able to finish his homework like he had thought, and be wearing two different shoes before whatever powers could be were satisfied.

The bell rang just as he heard feet thudding around the corner in a cadence created only by a person running. He turned his head in time to see Sam Manson, out of breath and skidding to a stop in the middle of the hall, right beside him.

"Bad morning?" he raised his eyebrows, giving her the once over as she dripped all over the floor. He only looked her over because she _was_ dripping and there was not a cloud in the sky.

"Fire hydrant busted right when I walked past and now I'm late," Sam got out as she caught her breath, catching Danny's wince and taking it as sympathy. What she didn't know was Shadow had been on the loose again, and had probably decided to exact some small form of revenge on her for smacking him with a book. Danny had him currently locked in a thermos though, so he wasn't too worried about anything more happening.

"Sounds bad," he nodded as he pulled out a couple of books, "Sorry it's a sucky day for you too."

"What's wrong with you?" Sam looked over her shoulder as she opened her locker and began grabbing books out, "Besides being late like me, I mean."

He closed his locker before walking over to stand beside hers and count his problems off on his fingers, "Didn't finish my homework last night, woke up late this morning and only got a piece of toast for breakfast, met a ghost on the way to school and am late because of it, since I'm late I can't finish my homework, and I just noticed that I have two different shoes on."

"Okay, so you win," Sam sent him a small smile, and pulled the last of her books out, "I guess I'll be seeing you in detention again?"

"Probably," he laughed slightly, then headed down the hall, "See you around, huh?"

"Around," Sam agreed as she closed her locker and walked towards her math class. She was soaking wet, and probably going to be cold until her clothes dried out, but as far as she could figure it was just another day in Amity. Strange things always happened, and lately they seemed to be focusing on her.

'Oh well,' she opened the door to her class and prepared herself for her explanation and the detention she was sure to receive, 'At least I have a friend I can talk to about it…if he doesn't outshine me with his brilliantly bad luck.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Lunch rolled around and Sam decided that her day was just going to continue to go downhill. Her clothes were still damp, she had received the dreaded detention, her homework and a few books in her backpack had gotten wet and she hadn't realized it until class started, and now it seemed she had nowhere to sit.

The cafeteria was packed today, and several tables seemed to be missing, most noticeably the table that she usually sat at by the doors. It seemed that the school officials had noticed that a few of the tables had only one or two people sitting at them and decided to remedy the problem of extra tables.

"Wonderful," Sam slipped into line and pulled her student id card from her backpack. The cards double as lunch cards as well as identification cards, "Nowhere to sit, and still cold and wet."

"Your day hasn't gotten any better either huh?" Danny's voice came from behind her, and turning, she found said boy with his card out as well, though minus his backpack, "Not only did I get detention and not have my homework, but the teacher took a spit wad to the back of his head and thought it was me."

"It wasn't you?" Sam sent Danny a cute smile, with a sarcastic edge to her voice, "I thought for sure that the bad boy who always found himself in detention would own up to his doings if only for the glory."

"Oh, right," Danny rolled his eyes as they continued forward with their trays in hand, "because I'm stupid enough to shoot a spit wad at a teacher, and you know what, I actually enjoy getting shoved into lockers. Good for the spine, never need a chiropractor."

Sam held in a chuckle at Danny's own brand of sarcasm and waved away the tongs that held a large slice of beef in front of her tray, nearly gagging as the smell reached her. She thankfully accepted the peas and carrots, however, and grabbed at one of the last salads. At Danny's questioning look as he accepted the spurned piece of meat, Sam gave a brief explanation, "I'm ultra-recylco-vegetarian. I eat nothing that has a face."

"Right," Danny stepped forward again and waited for his turn to swipe his card, "Nothing with a face. I guess human kind should be thankful."

"Something like that," Sam smiled over her shoulder once again, then remembered her predicament and heaved a sigh.

"I never asked you how your bad day got worse," Danny finally broke the silence, not enjoying standing in line without someone to engage him in conversation, "So…?"

"So, I'm still wet and cold, my books and homework turned out soaked just like me, I got that detention just like we thought, and now my table has disappeared."

"Your table?" Danny looked over her head, out over the cafeteria, "Wow, there aren't any empty tables today, huh?"

"Nope," she swiped her card and started to head off, "None at all."

She hadn't asked to sit with him, hadn't asked for a pity party as most people would have, and didn't seem all that concerned about not being able to eat lunch in the lunch room. She would probably end up going into the hall to eat or outside, though it was muggy that day and Danny couldn't think of anyone who enjoyed eating outside in such humid weather.

"Hey Sam," Danny called as he swiped his card, then moved to catch up with the girl who had turned to wait, "You don't have anywhere to sit, right?"

"Nope," she shook her head and shrugged, balancing her tray and drink as she did so, "but it's no big deal."

"You can eat with me and Tucker if you want," he jerked his head towards the end of one of the long tables where a few seats were still free, "I wouldn't want to sit alone, so I kinda' figured that you wouldn't either."

"I sit by myself everyday," Sam frowned at him, even as she followed him to the table, "My table is…was the one between the doors and the trash cans. One of the short ones. I always sit by myself."

"Seriously?" Danny's face scrunched in a cute frown as he looked appalled by the thought of sitting alone, "That's just not right. You don't get bored?"

"Nope," Sam shook her head as she sat on the opposite side of the table that Danny had put his tray down on, "It's peaceful in a way."

"Are you saying that to convince me, or yourself?" the halfa grinned a roguish little smirk and sat himself down, ready to dig in to his meal, "I mean, it has to be boring."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"So you and Danny are on the outs?" Star's voice pulled Valerie back into the conversation and off the peas she was currently playing with on her tray. Heaving a sigh she looked up to find the entire table waiting for her answer. She hadn't sat with Danny for weeks and no one had asked her about it all that time. A few days after she actually told Danny they were taking some time away from one another everyone seemed to notice and know, and everyone wanted an interview.

"Sort of," Valerie delicately stabbed a pea and brought it to her mouth, "I told him over the phone that we should take some time off."

"You told him you were breaking up?" Paulina's strangely triumphant voice cut through the tiny burst of chatter that had stated at her statement, "I knew it would be you ."

"That's low Paulina," Valerie started to pick at her food again, studiously ignoring all the girls' nattering around her, "but it doesn't really matter because we're just taking some time apart, not breaking up."

"Oh?" Paulina purred as she leaned even closer to Valerie over the table, "You two aren't separated? Because usually when a couple separates, they're breaking up. You know that Val, why not admit it?"

"Paulina's right, Val," Star stirred her peas and carrots whimsically while smiling softly at her friend, trying to help her understand what Paulina was crudely hacking at, "You two haven't really been getting along very well, and I know you've fought more over the past month than you two ever did when just friends."

"It could get better," Valerie sighed as she finally looked up, "I mean, I just told him I wanted to see what happened. I'm not really sure about that though. We've got different priorities for one thing, and I can't stand how he stands me up all the time."

"You know what I can't stand," Paulina was looking over Valerie's shoulder now, frowning at something she and Star could see, but Valerie couldn't, "I can't stand boys who bounce back so quick."

With a flick of her fork, Star latched onto to what she saw and frowned heavily, sending Valerie a sympathetic look as the girl slowly turned her head to see what the other two did. There was Danny, talking to that Manson chick and nodding his head towards his table. She looked unsure for a few seconds, then followed the boy's lead to the table he always sat at.

Valerie wasn't sure if she was more upset that Danny had invited another girl to his table, or that he had invited that loner, loser girl to sit with him. A second later a feeling of shame washed over her for thinking such shallow thoughts, and she glanced back to where Danny was.

They sat across the table from one another talking calmly about God only knew what, eating their food and smiling and laughing every now and again. It was the laughter that pulled at her heart, and jealousy swept over her. She slammed her fork down, swept up her bag, and headed out of the cafeteria for her next class, blushing that she was reacting so badly when _she_ had been the one to tell him that it was possibly over.

Paulina and Star watched her go, looking at each other with frowns on their faces. She hadn't made a scene, no, but she was certainly upset. Star reached over and took the missing girl's tray, stacking it under her own and made her way to the tray window to return them both. Knowing her friend, Valerie would overreact and blow things out of proportion.

It could just be a friend eating with a friend, but to Valerie that could seem far less innocent and perhaps even a sort of betrayal. If she had thought about patching things up with Danny before, that plan was surely out the window now.

Star would keep her thoughts to herself however, as she was sure it would be for the best. Both Valerie and Danny had lost something as they spent more time together, because in the end they were tearing each other apart. Things would work for the best in the end, and for some reason, Star saw that as the two of them separated.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"It is not in the least boring," Sam shot back, enjoying the fact that she was having a meal and conversation. Conversation was often lacking at all her meals, as she was alone at lunch, and she didn't enjoy eating dinner with her parents who prattled on about silly things. Breakfast was always a good meal in Sam's opinion however, as her grandmother ate with her. She loved talking to the elderly woman, who always listened as much as she talked. She often told Sam she saw herself in her.

"It has to be boring," Danny took a bite of meat and chewed it thoughtfully, kindly ignoring the face Sam made at his choice to eat 'something with a face'. He swallowed then looked back at the girl, "I mean, no one to talk to, or throw stuff at, or make fun of when their drink goes down the wrong way."

"That sounds like ideal company," Sam said just as she took another bite of her salad, working her way through the less than crisp salad, "Sitting with people who make fun of you, just great."

"It's what friends do," Danny poked the air in front of him with his fork to emphasis his point, then returned to eating his peas, "Friends make fun of each other, tease, whatever. It's boring if you don't. Besides, talking is just as nice sometimes, especially when you're having a bad day."

"That's one point I'll agree on, but really it doesn't bother me," Sam poked dejectedly at a carrot, thinking of her mealtimes with her parents, "I don't have to listen to other people sneer over the fact that I don't eat meat, and I don't have to hear about my clothes and what I should wear as opposed to what I do wear."

"Well," Danny shifted unsure of what to say in response, "You're not hearing it right now, right? And I am a person, or at least I was the last time I checked."

That garnered a small smile from Sam, and a chuckle escaped his lips as he thought over how true that could be, 'One second, a teenage boy, the next a ghost. Wouldn't you be surprised?'

"That's true," the girl across from him conceded, "I guess sitting with a friend would be better than just sitting with whoever has room at their table. It's not so bad as long as you don't swallow your food wrong, or knock over your drink for your friends to pick on you for."

"Probably," Danny nodded and smiled at her, taking another bite and watching Sam finish her meal, "Done already?"

"Not that much to eat, when the main course is meat," Sam quipped and pulled her bag from under the table, ready to stand and collect her tray, "Thanks for letting me eat with you and educating me on the difference between eating with people and eating with friends."

"Anytime," Danny smiled, "Maybe if you eat with me again tomorrow you'll get to meet my meat eating friend. He'll be the one to pick on you for that."

"I'll be charmed I'm sure," she finally managed to get herself in order and started away, "See you in detention Danny."

"See you…," Danny paused for a second, noting that she'd rarely called him by his first name before this, "Sam."

A smile shot over her shoulder and she was gone, lost in the students who were returning their trays and heading out towards their next class. Danny smiled back, then turned to find Tucker standing where Sam had been moments before, and the smile turned into a blush.

He was going to have some explaining to do…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Well,' Tucker stood in line by himself, as he had been late coming from his computer technology class, and looked over at his normal table to find Sam Manson sitting across from his friend, 'That could be a good thing. Wonder why she's at the table though.'

"Double meat, ma'am," Tucker smiled charmingly at the lunch lady in front of him, as she gave him an odd look in return but complied with his request, just as she did everyday, "Thank you."

"No problem Foley," she answered kindly, then looked to the boy who had returned for seconds and took care of him as well.

"Swipe the card, and…we're done!" and the young man headed for the table just as Sam Manson stood to leave. The little smile exchanged between the pair didn't go unnoticed by Tucker, who slowed his walk to the table to watch Danny look after her for a moment longer than he might have spared any of his other friends. Things were getting more and more interesting.

As soon as Tucker positioned himself in front of Danny at the chair that Sam had previously occupied, Danny's smile turned into a small blush and he averted his gaze. Tucker's tray hit the table and snapped Danny out of whatever mood he was in, whether it be love sick, confused, or otherwise, "What's up man?"

"Not a lot, just a sucky day that accidentally got Sam Manson mixed up in it again," the halfa heaved a sigh, shrugged, and finished off the peas on his plate, "Shadow was out again and decided to make a fire hydrant burst on her, then came and found me to mess with. I got him in the thermos, but not before he made me late to school, but you already knew most of that from first period."

"Yeah, but it makes for a good story," the other boy got out around a mouthful of meat, "Why didn't she stick around?"

"Not sure," Danny shrugged, taking a last sip of his tea, "She was done and ready to go I guess. Did you know they took out a few tables? That's why she was sitting with me…she lost her table."

"That would suck," Tucker frowned at his drink before downing half of it and returning to his meat, "So, I guess we'll have a new tablemate from here on out."

"Dunno'," the halfa shrugged again, not really sure of what Sam would want to do, "she isn't very predictable. She might find another table or something. Either way, it doesn't matter, she'll figure something out. I told her she could sit here though, if she wanted, but I warned her she'd have to put up with you and your meat obsession."

"Nothing wrong with enjoying meat," the self proclaimed techno geek laughed, "She won't mind me."

"Yeah, except for the fact that she's vegetarian or vegan or something like that," Danny laughed as well, "but really I just feel sorry for anyone who has to put up with you."

"Yeah, but you still hang out with me," Tucker shook his head, enjoying the fact that Danny seemed a bit lighter in spite of what happened between him and Valerie, "Show's how desperate for friends you are."

"Never man," Danny threw a stray pea at his friend, "You're the best."

"Thanks," Tucker reciprocated, "but you're about to get your butt kicked in a pea throwing fight!"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The day had started to look up, Danny thought, with lunch going so well, and the rest of his classes passing quickly, so of course something was bound to happen.

As the bell rang for the last class change of the day and Danny made his way to his locker to get a needed book, the halfa found Valerie waiting beside it, a frown tugging at her features and making her look fiercely upset. Danny had half a mind to just forget the book and take whatever trouble would come his way for not having it.

"Hey Valerie," Danny smiled rigidly, trying to figure out why she was at his locker after telling him they needed time apart only days before, "Need something?"

"I need to talk to you Danny, and since we're in between classes and don't have much time, I'm gonna' be really straight with you," her tone was harsh, and had the tiny flicker of hope that she was changing her mind dieing in his chest before it had a chance to grow, "I'm not going to be your girlfriend anymore."

Danny stood in confusion, not sure what to say to such a remark, and not sure he should trust his tongue to say anything helpful. Being a boy however, and being slightly angry that she had chosen now to tell him, he spoke anyway, "Why? Just the other day you said you wanted to take some time and see where things went, why do you want to change your mind all of a sudden?"

"I'm changing my mind because I don't want to watch you going around with other girls," Valerie turned her head sharply and crossed her arms, "I saw you laughing and joking around with Sam Manson."

"We're friends, Val," Danny frowned, already knowing what had happened. Valerie had seen them sitting together at lunch, talking or whatever and had taken it the wrong way. She already had a history of blowing things out of proportion when it came to Phantom, so why not Fenton as well?

"Since when was anyone friends with her?" The young man honestly couldn't believe she had just said that, and watched as a blush bloomed on her cheeks as she realized what she had said. He was only thankful that Sam hadn't been around to hear it.

"I'm her friend," Danny shook his head, suddenly thankful that Valerie was calling it quits, "and I have been since I got in trouble one day and she listened to my side of it instead of making snap judgments, Valerie. You're doing that a lot lately and I don't appreciate it. You never even let me try to explain anymore if I have to miss a date or something."

"You never really explain anyways, Danny," she swallowed hard as her frown intensified, "You were either not telling me the truth or were just being lazy and didn't want to make the effort. _You _are just as much to blame as I am."

"Maybe, but I was trying to fix it," he was so upset he felt like hitting his locker, but didn't. It would only lead to more trouble and they were attracting enough attention as it was. Taking a deep breath, Danny ran a hand through his hair and over his eyes, "Look, Valerie, if you want to break up, that's fine; I'm tired of fighting with you and constantly feeling like you're breathing down my neck. It's over. Done."

"Fine," Valerie turned to stomp away, flicking her hair over her shoulder, "I hope she's a witch, or at least one to you."

Danny didn't reply and instead turned his angry gaze to his locker and wrenched it open. As soon as he had grabbed his book and slammed his locker shut, he hastily made his way to his last class. The day had started bad and was ending the same way, the comments about his two different shoes not helping the situation in the least.

His only reprieve came in the form of the Box Ghost, appearing halfway through class right outside of his classroom window. Danny had never been more thankful in his life for the diversion the ghost provided, and he was sure that the Box Ghost was never more sorry he had threatened Danny Phantom with the 'corrugated cardboard boxes of doom'.

'At least I'm taking out my aggression on something useful, like beating another ghost,' Danny thought as he replaced the thermos lid after a good five minute fight, that was more a beating than anything, 'He always shows up just when I need a punching bag. Very thoughtful…'

The halfa made it back to class before the bell rang, and accepted another detention, though it didn't really matter. He had one that afternoon anyways, and he was dreading the hour spent with Lancer. Things could, hopefully, only get better from here on out, but Danny dared not voice his thoughts.

There were those in his life, after all, that could rip his thoughts apart, and would do so just for fun. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as that thought hit him. He really hoped that something would happen to make his day a little better.


	7. Chit Chat

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: This happens the same day as chapter six, so the bitterness of the breakup is still fresh…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Seven: Chit Chat  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Welcome back, Ms. Manson," Lancer glanced up from his book to see her take a seat next to Danny in the detention room, "Though I can't say I'm glad to see you back here so soon."

"I was late to first period, Mr. Lancer," Sam pulled out the library book she had been trying to finish since Saturday, and set her backpack to rest beside her chair.

"As was Mr. Fenton," the man shook his head, one eyebrow raising in question, "The two incidents wouldn't happen to have a connection?"

"No," Danny snapped, not bother to even lift his head where it was nestled in the fold of his arms, "She got sprayed by a fire hydrant, I got harassed by a ghost. We were both late, big whoop."

Sam and Edward Lancer both shot Danny a curious look at his tone of voice, noting how odd it was the Danny didn't even look up. He was usually energetic, ready to talk and entertain, and might even have made a joke about them both being late if he had been feeling himself.

"Are you feeling quite alright, Daniel?" Lancer shifted in his seat, to gain a better look at the youth in his classroom, "Do you need to go to the nurse?"

"I'm fine," Danny raised his head, red marks from where his face had been resting on his spiral apparent on his face, as was his brooding frown, "No nurse needed."

"Well," the vice-principal turned back to his book, "As this is detention, and you've both been here before you know the rules. No talking, and work on something if you please."

A few minutes passed in silence, Sam and the oldest member of the three reading, Danny furiously scratching at something in his notebook. Whether or not he was actually working was debatable. A sudden clearing of the throat from Danny startled Sam so badly she jerked in her seat, causing the whole thing to creak at the sudden movement. A look passed between the two before Sam let out a breathy laugh and Danny gave her a half smile and a quiet, "Sorry."

"It's fine," Sam returned just as quietly as Lancer looked between them and then back down to his book. The crackling of the intercom followed hot on the heels of the other startling sound and shocked all three of them into jerking, much to Sam's own private amusement.

"Mr. Lancer," the secretary's voice rang out only a second after the intercom had crackled to life, "You have a meeting with the parents of Joey Strange this afternoon. Did you forget sir?"

"_Huckleberry Fin_! I forgot all about it. I actually have two students here in detention with me at the moment," he placed a paper in his book to mark his page and then stood, "I'll be down immediately, if you would be so kind as to let the Stanges know?"

"Of course, Mr. Lancer," and the intercom snapped off, ringing violently with feedback and making Sam, Lancer, and Danny cringe.

"Really need to get those fixed," the man muttered to himself, then stood looking sternly over his two charges, "You will please remain here until I return."

The man was out the door and as soon as it shut behind him, Danny was shaking his head and chuckling to himself, "You do realize that every time we're both in here Lancer leaves the room, even if it's only for a couple of minutes."

"I must be a good luck charm," Sam smiled, happy that Danny had seemingly snapped out of whatever funk he had been in, "but if you don't mind, this good luck charm wants to finish this stupid book that I've had since Saturday. I'm on the last chapter and I only have a few pages left."

"Whatever," Danny shrugged and turned back to his notebook, "I've just been drawing."

Minutes passed, the clock ticking away the seconds as Sam read and Danny doodled quietly, his good mood wearing away with the annoying ticks that could be heard. By the time ten minutes had passed, Danny was quite through with doodling and thrust his notebook in his bag in his ill temper.

Sam took a moment to dog ear her page, and then quietly closed her book. Something was really bothering Danny, other than the horrendously bad beginning of the school day. He hadn't seemed too bothered by that, so something had to of happened between lunch and detention. Surely it hadn't been anything she had done?

Five more minutes passed, then another five and Danny's fingers began to tap a cadence against his thigh, his leg jerking up and down as his leg bounced in irritation. The tapping sound he made drowned out the ticking clock but did little to relieve his bad mood.

"I'm bored," tapping fingers, tapping foot, "We only have five minutes left, couldn't he have come back and let us go if his meeting was going to last so long?"

"I don't know, so don't look at me," Sam sat back, arms folded, "I'm only in here every other week, unlike some people."

At her wry tone, Danny smiled a bit, realizing she was teasing and tried to let go of his sour mood, "Yeah, well, every other week is more than you used to get detention. Must be rubbing off on you."

"Let us pray not," Lancer's head popped through the door, "You are free to go, as my meeting is running unusually long."

"Thanks Mr. Lancer," Danny darted up, ready to go, "See you tomorrow."

"Have a nice day," Sam grabbed her bag and book and followed Danny, head down as Mr. Lancer's smile followed them to the door.

The vice-principal nodded, and held the door for them both, "You too. Have a safe day as well. The ghost forecasts call for extremely heavy saturation the rest of the week."

"Geeze," Danny mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. It was almost inaudible, but Sam caught it. The acerbic look on his face that had hovered over him for most of detention was making a reappearance, and convinced her not to ask.

The pair walked towards their lockers, and the feeling of familiarity settled on Sam. It was almost becoming tradition, she smiled wryly to herself. It was comforting, and she found that she enjoyed the company after her extra hour at school, even if she had to hurry home to escape her parent's wrath.

"Hey man," a voice shattered the peace between them as they rounded the corner, "Oh uh…Sam, right? Hey to you too."

He looked confused to see her, but she understood. It wasn't an everyday thing for her to be walking down the deserted hallway with anyone, let alone Danny Fenton. Sneaking a glance at Danny, she raised her eyebrow, asking for an introduction as she had been taught was proper.

"Uh, Tuck, you got it right, this is Sam," he finally grasped that she needed an introduction, "Sam, this is Tucker."

"Tucker Foley," he slid beside her as soon as Danny had turned back to his locker, "but you can call me T.F., as in 'Too Fine' if you want."

An extravagant wink followed, much to her chagrin.

"How about N.W. as in 'No Way'?" she calmly folded her arms, "Sorry, but I don't just randomly hook up with people. I like to get to know them first."

"So, is that a maybe?" Sam ground her teeth and balled her fists at her side. Tucker didn't notice, but Danny certainly did.

"Tuck," the halfa wisely stepped in, probably saving Tucker's life, "what're you doing still at school? Anything up?"

"Nope, just hanging around to check up on my bud," he leaned against the lockers as Danny and Sam went to their own on opposites sides of the hall. Danny cut him a glare as Sam turned with a confused look and a book in her hands.

"I'm fine," Danny ground out, ignoring both the raised eyebrow and the angry, huff of breath that freed her eye of that unruly strand of hair, "and why don't you just get a clip or something?"

"I don't want to," Sam shot back, "What's up with you? You've been in a mood all through detention. Mr. Lancer even noticed something was up."

"It's nothing," Danny shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it, but knowing they wouldn't leave him alone until he at least satisfied their curiosity, "Val and I…we had a nasty fight today right before last period and broke up."

"Oh," Sam immediately looked away, ashamed for having pushed him to talk, "I'm…sorry."

"It's fine," he shook his head and gently closed his locker, a far cry from what he had done earlier that afternoon, "She was just…she said some really horrible things about a friend and I didn't appreciate it. She was the one who decided to break up though, so no big deal."

He shouldered his backpack stiffly, not meeting Tucker's sympathetic eyes as he adjusted his straps. Nothing was said for a moment as the sound of Sam's locker closing echoed through the halls, then a hand was on his shoulder, much smaller than Tucker's would have been.

"I know I said it the other day," Sam shifted nervously, glancing at Tucker for what she didn't know, but finding support in his warm brown gaze, "but if you need to talk, I'm a pretty good listener, and I don't mind sob stories…when they're from a friend."

"Thanks," Danny turned with a huff of air, as he tried a small smile for his two concerned friends, "I really appreciate it, but I'm fine. I'll work it out, and honestly I was kinda' ready to end it anyways…we weren't really working out."

A last nod and a smile found Sam on her way ahead of the boys who stayed by the lockers for a moment more. Tucker leaned heavily and jammed his hands in his pockets, guilt over the plan he had formed weeks before bubbling in his stomach.

"You know man," he shook his head and took his glasses off to clean them on his shirt, "A couple of weeks ago I wanted you to break up with Valerie. It was stressing you out so bad, and the two of you tried for a year. A year. That's a long time, and the two of you just got worse and worse."

"I know," tired blue eyes turned Tucker's way just as he replaced his glasses, "I'm kinda' relieved in a weird way, but it still bothers me. I guess her being so nasty helped a lot."

A humorless chuckle escaped Danny's lips as Tucker simply watched him, waiting for him to continue, "She saw Sam eating with me and went flying off the handle about it, saying things about not wanting to be with me anymore if she kept seeing me with other girls and how horrible it was that I chose Sam to sit with because she's…different."

"Wow," Tucker let out a low whistle as he took in Danny's story. The halfa wasn't prone to lying or exaggeration, so what he heard was the true story. So long had Danny been fighting ghosts and working to save the town, he had taken the habit of stripping the truth to the bare essentials to save time. What Danny said happened, happened, and Tucker took it all at face value.

"Yeah," he shook his head and started walking, "I didn't think she had it in her…but then again, she was upset. She probably didn't really know what she was saying."

"It still doesn't excuse her," Tucker caught up with his friend, head still reeling from the news, "though I see where you're coming from."

"I dunno'," Danny looked over at Tucker just as a blue wisp escaped his mouth. The halfa let his head fall back to stare up at the tiled ceiling of the hallway, "Gotta' go."

"Maybe it'll be good therapy," Tucker grabbed for Danny's backpack as the boy slipped the thermos from it, "Beat 'em up, take out the aggression."

"I've already got Shadow and the Box Ghost in here," Danny tried to smile, but it came out more like a sneer, "One more isn't going to make me feel any better as far as I'm concerned."

"Maybe it will," Tucker prayed for his friend that this fight would be easy and short, then held up Danny's bag, "I'll drop this by the house and talk to you tomorrow."

"Thanks Tuck," Danny finally got off a real smile for his friend as he changed and took to the air, "You're a lifesaver."

"So are you man," Tucker made his way to the door as soon as Danny disappeared through the wall, literally meaning what he said, "So are you."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The afternoon sun beat down nicely on Sam, warming her skin and pulling a tired smile from her lips and eyes. She was thankful that she had dried before detention as she had been ever so cold in all her classes, and now the sun was heaven sent and deliciously warm. Leaning her head back, she paused in her walk home to gaze at the clouds above her head. It was a shame that such a beautiful day had seen such bad things happen to Danny. He really was a kind young man and didn't deserve any of it.

A flash of red to her right brought her out of her musing and turned her attention to the park, where several people could be heard screaming and were then seen running to escape whatever mayhem was taking place, 'And judging by the lightshow, it's the ghostly sort of mayhem.'

Inquisitiveness was part of her nature, and Sam eagerly followed the noises into the park. Ghosts, as of late, had seemingly been drawn to her, why should she not return the favor? If she was careful and stayed far enough away she'd be able to see exactly what happened and perhaps catch Phantom at his work. She had always thought it easiest to figure people out by observing them, and so she figured it would follow with a ghost.

The ghost in the park wasn't much to look at, a gangly youth who looked only a few years older than Phantom who arrived just as Sam did. She found no where to hide, so she stood on a hill overlooking where the new ghost raked up the ground in malicious glee. Phantom shot her a curious look, to which she just shrugged and moved back a bit to a tree for more protection. The other ghost had thankfully not noticed her.

Danny had spotted her on the hill almost instantly as he swept the area to see if more ghosts were lying in wait, or perhaps if his girlfriend, no…ex-girlfriend was around. She had merely shrugged at his confused look and stepped further back to hide behind a tree. He knew she didn't live near the park, and earlier she had said she was heading home, so he couldn't figure out why she was there, unless it was a shortcut of some kind.

'She doesn't have to tell me everything,' the halfa shook his head as he listened with half an ear to the speech the other ghost had obviously prepared and practiced, 'Maybe she just wanted to finish that book of hers in peace and got caught in another ghost fight. Definitely the suckiest day ever for both of us, then.'

"Okay, okay," Danny waved his hand, ending the other ghost's monologue, "Can we just get to the fighting, you're the third ghost today, I'm getting tired of listening to lectures, and today has sucked beyond all reason."

He hadn't even caught the other entity's name, but it didn't matter as he was all bark and no bite. It took only a few hits and a couple of minutes for the other ghost to be weakened enough to be sucked into the thermos and the fight was over as quickly as it had begun. A few stray shots had gone towards the tree that Sam had gone behind, singeing grass and branches alike. Danny was at the hill quickly, worried that something might have happened to one of his friends, one of the rare ones that knew him as a friend in both forms, even if she didn't know that he was just one person.

'She is my friend like this right?' he questioned himself as he landed and peered around the tree, surprised beyond all reason to find Sam calmly reading the last page of her book, 'Okay, obviously she either really trusts me, or didn't think that what's his name would ever notice her…'

"Ahem," Danny exaggeratedly coughed into his gloved hand, smirking a bit as Sam jumped but kept reading, ignoring him in favor of finishing. She had been wanting to finish that book since Saturday, or so he remembered her saying. The thought of Saturday, though, had him frowning and crossing his arms all over again as the memory of what had been started then and finished earlier that day crossed his mind.

"Done," Sam smiled upwards, but upon catching Phantom's folded arms and rapidly darkening face, she swallowed slightly and closed her book, "Sorry."

'Great, I've gone and pissed him off,' she worriedly tucked her book into her backpack, 'Way to go, maybe he's schizophrenic, friendly one second, ready to kill the next…oh, don't think that…'

"What?" It had taken a second for her quiet voice to make its way into his consciousness, "Why are you sorry?"

His gentle tone had her looking up into a much more relaxed, if not quizzical, face, "I thought I made you upset by ignoring you. It might seem weird to you, but I don't want to piss off the most powerful ghost in Amity Park."

"Um, you didn't piss me off," the ghost wearily sank to sit beside her on the soft grass, folding long legs to rest Indian style, "I've just had a really bad day."

"You too?" she looked out over the torn up ground, then glanced back beside her to the young ghost, "You aren't going to just take off? You usually do."

"I usually have somewhere to be or another ghost to catch," he laughed humorlessly, the echo in his voice creating strange sounds within the laughter, "Today I have nothing to do and nowhere to be, and hopefully a friend to sit and rest with. It looks like today was hard on you, too."

"A little," Sam shifted, trying to get more comfortable without moving too much. Skirts could be dangerous things when sitting as she was, "but my friend had it worse. All sorts of bad stuff was happening to him today, and then to top it off his girlfriend dumped him."

"Ouch," Danny swallowed heavily, averting his eyes so she wouldn't see the pain in them.

"Yeah, ouch," Sam agreed, then turned to see his own head turned, "You said your day was bad too? I'm a good listener…"

Her teasing tone as she tempted him to talk got a small laugh from him, "Yeah, bad day. Three ghosts, a not so great day in general, and uh…girl problems."

'That's right,' Sam nodded her head as she listened, 'He said he had a date that one time we talked, so I guess everything that goes with dating can happen to a ghost too…'

"Anyways, that's all over with," he waved a hand in front of his face as if to clear away something, "I'm actually kind of glad it happened. We honestly hadn't been getting along, and she had different…goals than I do."

"That's always tough," Sam nodded, "Not that I've ever had a boyfriend, but my parents are like that. You saw my house, I'm filthy rich, but no one would ever know it by looking at me or talking to me. I don't flaunt it, but my parents…my parents do nothing _but_ flaunt it. They think I should be little Ms. Apple Pie American Sweetheart, with pink dresses and the full 'Samantha' to go with it."

"I can't see you in pink," Phantom laughed beside her, "So if they think that, what do you think?"

"I think that I should be an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian, which means I eat nothing with a face, I should wear what I feel like, and read and listen to what I feel like," Sam smiled up at the sun, "I should get to just be me, and people should accept me like that. The problem is, most people can't."

"It could be worse," the halfa joined her in looking upwards, enjoying the warmth that seeped into his frigidly cold body, "You could be me."

"I know, I'm sorry," Sam shook her head and sat up a bit straighter, "I shouldn't talk about my problems, I mean…I'm still…alive after all. My problems probably pale pretty dramatically."

"Not really," Danny shook his head and moved to a more comfortable position as well, "I don't know how to explain it, but it's not all that different I suppose. The problem is, most ghosts seem to have an obsession of some sort. Get past that and they're usually pretty nice."

'Wonder what his is,' Sam shot him a sideways look as she ran her hand over the grass, a focused look on her face as she thought, 'Though he did say most ghosts, so that means not all…maybe he's one of the few or something.'

"I don't have one if that's what you're thinking," the boy beside her frowned, the cute pout on his face making her laugh, "I don't. Unless you count keeping this town as ghost free as I can…maybe that's my obsession and I really do have one."

"It's a good obsession for the rest of us," Sam leaned further against the tree, folding her hands over her lap, "but I don't think that counts. Why do you do it anyways?"

"It's my home," he looked over Sam, taking in her dark eyes and short cropped hair, "I want to protect it and I don't like seeing people getting hurt just because other ghosts are after me."

"Good enough reason for me," she smiled again closing her eyes in the sun once more, "I figured it was something like that. You don't seem like you have ulterior motives."

"You never know," green eyes flashed playfully, as he enjoyed himself for a few moments more before having to leave for home, "I could be working up some evil plot. Take over the world sort, and all that, or maybe just take over Amity Park."

"That's been done before, several times," Sam rolled her eyes, feeling more and more at ease with the young ghost beside her, and beyond thankful that she'd found yet another person to talk to and relax with, "You seem more original than that."

The pair sat for a moment more, hidden from prying eyes by the large tree trunk they sat behind, listening to the voices of people returning to the park and inspecting the torn up ground. Most of them were blaming it on Phantom, and Sam felt her stomach churn with righteous indignation. He had just saved them, and truly it was the other ghost that had caused the damage.

"It's getting late," the halfa stood, glancing around as the voices grew, "We should probably leave."

"Those stupid, ignorant people," Sam got to her knees, eyes burning holes through the tree to the people beyond, "They don't even know what happened, they all ran away like cowards!"

"Um, it's okay," Danny watched in amusement, and some awe, as Sam went on a tirade against the 'ignorant populace' who followed with the 'group mentality'. It lasted a good two minutes before she was finished with fire in her eyes and a blush heating her cheeks. She was defending him again, even if it was only to herself and himself, but it left a goofy smile on his face. She quickly ended her rant, with a questioning look, torn between confusion and amusement herself.

"Well," Sam finished as she stood and crossed her arms, "Just…ignore them. That's what I was trying to get out, because they aren't worth your time. They don't know what they're talking about."

"Well thank you, again, for defending me," Phantom laughed and jerked his head over his shoulder towards the rapidly sinking sun, "but I have to go, and I'd imagine you do too."

"I should have been home right after school," Sam rolled her eyes, stooping to pick up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder as she straightened back up, "I'm going to catch it for being out so late and not calling. I had detention anyways, so I'll just say I got stuck at school and heard that a ghost fight was going on so I played it safe and stayed where I was. They'll take that, but I'll probably still be in trouble."

"Sorry I got you in trouble," Phantom winced, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture that seemed vaguely familiar, "I always seem to get people in trouble."

"It's not your fault," she turned to go, then turned back slightly, "Thanks for the talk, I don't usually get the chance to just chat with a friend. It was…nice, hanging out."

"Well, you should do it more often then," he chuckled, then glanced around for second, checking if anyone was around, "Um, it's a walk to your house…"

"Not that bad," she stopped moving to look at him, a hint of a smirk hovering over her face, "Don't get all gentleman on me and offer to walk me home. I'm sure that's the last thing either of our reputations need, Sam Manson and resident Phantom seen walking together."

"Heh," he bite his lip and tugged at the collar of his jumpsuit as faint color washed across his pale cheeks, "I was actually going to say I'd fly you home if you didn't want to walk…"

"Oh," she suddenly felt bad for teasing him, as she honestly didn't mind people acting courteously, "I was just teasing, I didn't mean anything…anyway, I had better just walk. It really isn't that far, and I'm not sure about…flying."

"Okay," Danny smiled, happy that she wasn't upset by the offer, and amused that she wasn't sure about flying, "but you don't know what you're missing out on. You're loss I guess."

He made his point by raising into the air and hovering a few feet above the ground, enjoying Sam's quirked lips and laughing eyes. She simply started to walk away again, and shook her head, calling over her shoulder to him, "I'll take a rain check!"

"See ya' around," he called back and watched her wave. The day had sucked, but it seemed to be ending far better than he had hoped for.

'Small blessings,' he reminded himself as he took to the air and headed home, thermos in hand, 'It's the little things that make the world work, and gaining a friend is way better than loosing a whiney girlfriend.'

Laughter filled the air over Amity Park and Danny enjoyed his last thought, feeling a little silly about being so mean to Valerie, who had been his friend for a while, but letting it all out anyway. Jazz would tell him the best way to deal with the situation would be to face his feelings as they came, and right now he was happy. After all, Danny thought, even halfas deserved some happiness every now and again.


	8. Civil Communications

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Another chapter…wow. Yay.  
Enjoy and let me know if you find typos. ;)

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Eight: Civil Communication  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Today has been absolutely harsh," Tucker's bag hit the table as the young man pulled his chair out, tray balanced on one hand and his drink in the other, "First a pop quiz in history first period when we aren't even awake, then a pop test in my computer technology class. Harsh, man."

"Nice to see you too, Tucker," Sam nodded from across the table at him, "but as you can see, I don't think I fit the description of Danny Fenton."

"Sorry about that," biting back a laugh, Tucker eased himself into the chair, finally taking notice that it hadn't been Danny he had stormed up to, but rather Sam, a new addition to the table over the past school week. Friday she hadn't sat with them, but when she suddenly sat herself beside Danny on Monday, Tucker figured she'd be a permanent addition, what with the inconspicuous lack of tables for her to sit at and the dreadful humidity outside.

"So, pop quiz and pop test?" Sam brought a forkful of lettuce to her mouth as she snapped the ring on her soda lid to open her drink with the other hand, "Do tell."

"Well," Tucker eagerly cut into his Salisbury steak, enjoying the face that Sam made at his choice in food, "the pop quiz was over the American Revolution and the lead up to it, and the lasting effects of it. That was killer, but I think I managed alright. Danny was shaking his head the entire time, but I figure if he didn't fall asleep, he probably passed it. He's pretty good at history. Anyways, then there was the surprise test in comp-tech. That was a breeze, but she didn't give me enough time to do everything I wanted to the web page we were supposed to be constructing. I made the top score on that of course."

"Of course," she took another sip of her soda, a smile playing on her mouth as Tucker continued to talk and devour his meal at the same time, with Sam mostly ignoring the copious lack of manners from her friend, 'Wonder where Danny got to…'

"Hey," a tired boy plopped into the chair beside her, answering her question as his head slammed into the table and his book bag hit the floor loudly, "Tired."

"You look ugly," Tucker leaned over his friend, a hand to his neck to playfully check for a pulse, "Not dead though, or at least not yet. What happened to you?"

"Locker," Danny ground out, rolling his head slightly so he could look up at Tucker and Sam's worried faces, "Dash. First Annual Geek Stuff-a-thon, or whatever they called it. Lost my ID card too..."

"Got caught?" Sam's soft tone was soothing to his frayed nerves as he just nodded his head, not even bothering with getting lunch or moving too much for that matter. For all the ghost fighting he did, Danny sometimes wondered why he never took Dash on, 'Way too nice, I guess. Silly me.'

His brooding thoughts were soon turned to other things as he found an empty tray set before him. Sam donated the tray and a few carrot sticks that she had left over, Tucker forked over half of his steak, and then Sam slid her half finished soda over, completing the meal.

"Thanks guys," he sorely sat up, downing part of the soda, then moved on to the steak. Tucker and Sam kept up their light hearted conversation, which ranged between school and how disgusting it was to eat meat, or to hear Tucker tell it, how disgusting it was to eat vegetables and fruits. Nibbling on his carrots, Danny drowned out his two friends and found himself thinking back over the week.

"Hey," the idea popped up on him as soon as he finished his carrot, Tucker and Sam both looking over at him at his sudden exclamation, "Let's all go to the Nasty Burger today after school, or after detention if I get it."

"Well, if you haven't got it yet, maybe you'll get lucky the rest of the day," Sam laughed, reaching back to steal one last sip from the soda she had handed over to Danny, "Sorry Danny, I was thirsty, and Nasty Burger sounds good, I'm already in trouble anyways, so it won't really matter."

"The soda was yours anyways," Danny laughed, as Tucker watched them, "You up for a burger Tuck?"

"Do you have to ask?" the boy laughed, then turned back to his original conversation with Sam, spitting out something about meat being by far the best and the girl returning something about the arteries becoming clogged.

Glancing at his two friends happily chatting, Danny decided that, for once, it had been a pretty good week, and getting stuffed in a locker wasn't enough to get him down yet. Grabbing his last carrot he turned his thoughts back to the week and pondered them once more with a content look to his face.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
Monday  
.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Mind if I sit here again?"

Sam shocked both Tucker and Danny out of their continued pea flicking contest from last Thursday, and the young woman found herself with a pea stuck to her left cheek thanks to Tucker, who had miscalculated his shot. A raised eyebrow and frown later found two boys offering up whatever napkins they could lay their hands on and a laughing Sam, brushing the pea from her face.

Danny scooted his seat over and Sam grabbed the chair next to him and lowered herself gracefully to sit in it. Tucker flicked one last pea and landed it right in Danny's ear as he turned to speak to Sam. He spazed out nicely, or so Tucker thought.

"Geeze," Danny slapped a hand over his ear, knocking the pea loose and shooting Tucker a very evil 'I know where you live' glare simultaneously, "At least wait until I'm paying attention, Tuck."

"You two are so immature," Sam glanced between them, pulling her tray further away so as to protect her own peas from filching boys, "Maybe I should just go back out into the horrible weather and sweat to death. It might be better than trying to survive around you guys."

"I wouldn't go back outside," the halfa turned to roll his eyes, "Tucker behaves sometimes, and so do I, and usually air conditioning is a good thing."

"So long as you behave at least sometimes, I think I'll be alright," the snaps to her salad were quickly undone and Sam happily took up her fork, more than ready for her lunch, "Sorry I just dropped in on you."

"It's cool," Tucker shrugged as Danny looked over to him, "I get bored with just Danny most days anyway. No one to talk to, no one to listen to me, no one to notice me…"

"No one to get you to shut up when you're being melodramatic," Danny leaned his chin on his elbow on the table, pushing his tray away from him at little, "He's horrible, sure you don't want to run away?"

"I'll think about it," Sam laughed, then looked over at Tucker, "I may have to if he's as much of a meat eater as you said he was."

"Meat is the best!"

"Wow," Danny's brow scrunched as he laughed out the word, "You really do remember everything. I told you that last Thursday."

"It's usually a good thing," Sam wrinkled her nose, then shrugged, "It really comes in handy in class. I don't have to take very good notes, but I usually do it anyways because I'm bored. If I'm not taking notes, I'm doodling, and if I'm not doodling then I'm skipping class because I can't stay awake through those really boring lectures...especially history."

"History's not that bad," Danny played with the food left on his tray before mixing it all together, much to Tucker's delight and Sam's revulsion, "Nothing's really bad in school, it just gets…I dunno'. Tiresome, I guess."

"Everything gets tiresome," Tucker leaned back in his chair to stretch, leaning his head back all the way to smile at a passing girl, getting a roll of the eyes in return, "Well, everything except technology and meat. Two best things in the world right there."

"The third best thing in the world," Danny grinned over at Sam, as he jerked his thumb towards his friend across the table, "would be if he could actually get a girl to go out with him. He's hopeless."

"Or maybe just clueless," Sam added her own two cents as she watched Tucker shake his head and try not to laugh as they talked about him. Hearing the word 'clueless' though, sent Tucker into a fit, as he shook his head, and pointed towards his best friend.

"Oh, I may be hopeless, but I'm definitely not clueless," he waggled his finger in Danny's face, "This, right here, if Mr. Clueless, king of them all, especially when it comes to girls."

"Hey, I had a girlfriend thank you very much, and it wasn't my fault we aren't still together," Danny flushed a bit, his eyes darkening in slight anger at being reminded of what had happened, "You're the one who hasn't had a girlfriend yet."

"Yeah," Tucker wiggled his eyebrows at Sam, acting as though Danny wasn't even there, "but you see, Sam, he may have had a girlfriend, but I had to be the one to tell him that Valerie actually liked him. He liked her, sure, but he couldn't tell that she liked him back. He was totally clueless."

"Can we talk about something else," Danny cut in, shooting Tucker another glare, "Like, I don't know, Lancer's never ending torture of detention that I have, yet again?"

"Another tardy?" Sam finished her salad and turned to her drink, "I thought I saw you at your locker on time this morning."

"You did," Danny pushed his tray towards Tucker, who was eagerly eyeing his leftover three bites of hamburger, "The stupid jocks pulled down my pants in the hall and Lancer rounded the corner before I could pull them back up."

"Ah, another indecent exposure then," Sam laughed at the blush on his face as did Tucker, "Maybe you shouldn't wear them so loose, or at least get a belt…"

"I don't know," he ran a hand tiredly through his hair, then laughed and lay his head down, "I tried to change the subject to something less embarrassing and managed to embarrass myself even more."

"It's 'cause there's a pretty girl at the table now," Tucker patted the top of Danny's head roughly, "Makes every boy tongue tied and do embarrassing things."

'Did he just call me pretty?' The thought echoed through Sam's suddenly still mind as a blush rose in her cheeks. It wasn't that she liked Tucker that way, but she was rarely called pretty by anyone outside of her family. The only person she could ever remember calling her that and meaning it was her grandmother.

'Did he just call her pretty?' Danny looked between the smirking Tucker who was eyeing him knowingly, and the prettily blushing Sam, 'Wait, did I just think she was pretty…I mean, she is, but…'

"Well, I'm done," Sam pushed back from the table and gathered up her backpack and tray with a smile, the blush still spread across her cheeks and nose, "See you guys later, or tomorrow or whatever."

She was up and gone from the table before either boy could react, and both Tucker and Danny broke out in quiet laughter at her reaction, "It's like she's never been called that before," scoffed Tucker.

"Maybe she hasn't," Danny looked back over his shoulder to see Sam slipping out the side doors as discreetly as she could, "I mean, I don't ever remember Sam Manson hanging out with anyone in school. I think we're her only friends, Tuck. Seriously."

"She's always gone to school here though," Tucker shook his head, trying to call up whatever he had heard about her through their years of school, "When we were little she would hang out with everyone, if I remember right. She was really outgoing, but then in middle school, she just started keeping to herself and wearing black."

"I guess she just didn't find the right people to hang out with," Danny shook his head, saddened slightly that it had taken the three of them so long to become friends. She was a really nice person, with a good head on her shoulders and a great outlook on life as far as he could tell.

"Well," the other boy laughed happily, flicking a pea at his best friend, "she found us. We must be the right people she needed to find, and if we are, I pity her for that."

The pea fight took up the rest of their lunch period and a happy victory was celebrated by Danny, who Tucker swore was cheating as the peas mysteriously launched themselves at him, even when Danny had left the table for a bathroom break.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
Tuesday  
.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey Sam," Danny parked himself beside her locker as she twirled the combination dial to open it, "How's it going?"

"Um, good," the girl concentrated first on her combination, then on not smacking Danny in the face as she opened the locker door, "Did you need something?"

"Uh, no," Danny peered around the door to find Sam digging for a book and a notebook she would need for her first period class, "Are you upset?"

"No," Sam glanced up to find Danny worriedly looking at her, and realized that Danny was just there to talk. He didn't need anything, wasn't going to ask for homework, and definitely wasn't going to make fun of her for something. It seemed odd though, to be talking to him at a time other than lunch or detention.

"Oh," the boy pulled away and pushed his hands in his pockets, "Should I leave you alone or something?"

"No," Sam laughed as she reached for the door to close her locker once again, and stood with her shoulder against the cool metal when she did so, "I just wasn't expecting you to come up and talk to me, that's all."

"Why wouldn't I?" Danny's confusion was cute, and Sam couldn't deny it as she tried not to blush at his sweet comment, "I mean, we're friends and friends usually talk."

"You usually talk with Tucker at your own locker," Sam gave him a light frown and pointed across the hall to where Danny's locker stood, her book bag dropping to her feet as she did so, "I don't usually get visitor's and if I do, they want homework or notes or lunch money or something stupid like that. You don't want homework or notes or anything, do you?"

Her wary glance was enough to set Danny laughing, and Sam rounded on him with a glare to rival Ember's , which of course had him biting his lip trying to stop laughing. None of his efforts were successful though, and he was rubbing the back of his head from Sam's light slap there, "What was that for?"

"For laughing, Danny Fenton," Sam narrowed her eyes on him, ready to deliver another slap to the back of his skull if he kept it up, "You don't have to laugh at me, I know it's pretty pathetic when you don't expect people to talk to you, but that's my life."

"No, no," Danny shook his head as another smile split his face, "it's not like that. I was just laughing because you glared at me. That was a pretty nasty look as glares go. One of the worst I've seen."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No…"

"Then you can stay and talk until Tucker gets here."

"Whatever you say Sam."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
Wednesday  
.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"So, did you hear the one about the blonde?"

"No, but did you hear the one about the annoying boy who kept telling a Goth jokes?"

"Uh, no," Danny sent Sam a cautious look, not sure where she was going with her question, but already knowing it would possibly be bad for him. He hadn't known her that long, but she wasn't the most difficult person to figure out. When she was happy, she was happy. When she was angry, well, she was definitely angry. Sam wore her heart on her sleeve most of the time, just like he usually ended up doing as Tucker liked to point out.

"I did," the other boy popped his head around Sam's open locker, then stepped fully around it with a wide smile as he made up his own punch line, "Ends with the annoying boy stuffed inside the Goth's locker with her boot up his a-"

"Whatever," Sam rolled her eyes good naturedly and closed her locker, "Seriously though Danny, are you trying to get on my nerves?"

"Maybe," was what he said, but his mischievous blue eyes plead guilty. Sam heaved a sigh and brought a hand up to rub her forehead. She was amused yes, but something was bothering her, and Danny decided to quit while he was ahead…or still had his head for that matter.

"You okay?"

"Yes...no, I don't know!" the girl threw up her hands and slammed her back against the metal wall behind her, causing both boys to wince at the force with which her back hit the lockers, "I really dislike my parents sometimes."

"Need to talk about it?" Danny leaned back on the lockers on her left side, while Tucker mimicked him on the right, "I mean, you always say you're a good listener, so it's my turn now."

Tucker silently nodded as Sam worried at a thread from the edge of her skirt, pulling at it until the fabric bunched around the hem, then snapped it off with a vicious tug. She was obviously very upset, and Tucker inched away from her slightly, 'Those combat boots look really heavy and really worn out on the toe…possibly from kicking…'

"My parents wanted me to wear this pink t-shirt and little white, pleated skirt today," Sam glanced down at her own dark outfit, frowning fiercely as she related her morning, "I don't like pink, I never have, and with my hair and eye color I don't look good in it, especially since I'm so pale, and I told them that. Then we got in a fight over me never wearing color, which I pointed out I did because I have purple and green on my clothes."

Sam sent Danny a weak smile as she said that, remembering their very first long conversation in the hallway outside of the principal's office. Danny chuckled and mumbled something about her remembering everything, then nodded his head slightly for her to continue. Tucker took it all in with a hidden smirk, and listened to Sam's story as well.

"It just went downhill from there because my parents are as stubborn as I am," the thread she had previously plucked from her skirt was twisted around one of her fingers so tightly the tip started to turn purple and Sam hurriedly unwound it as she shook her head in frustration, "We started yelling and then my grandma got into the fight and tried to defend me, but my Dad just took her out of the room so my Mom could finish with me. I stormed back up to my room, put on my normal clothes, and left through the back door. I can't wait to see what happens when I get home…"

"Why didn't you just compromise?" Tucker leaned slightly towards Sam as he kept his gaze straight ahead, as Sam and Danny were both doing, "I mean, maybe not pink, since you really don't like it, but why not wear something besides black, green, and purple?"

"Because that's what I wear," Sam's forehead creased as she thought how to word her thoughts, "It's what I've always worn, what I like to wear. You always have that red beret on Tucker, and Danny wears that white ringer t-shirt with that weird red oval as often as he can. You don't change because you're comfortable and it's the same for me. I shouldn't have to dress a certain way for people to like me or respect me or whatever my parents were rambling about."

"But compromising doesn't mean changing completely," Tucker argued again as Danny watched Sam's face closely. She was growing more frustrated instead of calming down and that wasn't the best thing for her. He knew all too well how a bad morning could snowball into a bad day, and he didn't want that for Sam for some reason.

"Yeah, but she shouldn't have to compromise," Danny looked over her head to his friend and shrugged, tugging on his own shirt, "You and me wear the same thing everyday and no one says anything because it's pretty 'normal'…well, maybe not the beret, but you get my point. My parents don't say anything and neither do yours, so we don't have to worry about it. I get the feeling that Sam doesn't want to loose ground by backing down."

"That's exactly right," she nodded sharply, her high, tiny ponytail bouncing with the move and catching both boy's attention, "If I give in on this and compromise, it'll make my entire life more complicated. I compromised on my clothes, so why not my choice of what I eat, or who I'm friends with? I give up one thing to my parents and they'll start pressing the issue on everything else they used to bother me about."

Tucker took a moment to take it all in, then nodded his head in understanding, reaching for his PDA for something to occupy his hands with as he thought. Sam finished shredding the poor piece of string she had been messing with, and Danny simply stood with hands in his pockets. The silence settled over them until the warning bell rang and the two boys started to move off.

Danny pulled up short when Sam stayed where she was, though. Her head was down with her hair hanging over her face, and her hands were balled into tight fists, her pale skin even whiter than normal from the force with which she was clenching her hands, "Sam?"

A deep breath came out of Sam's mouth as she straightened back up to smile at her friend, her eyes no longer sad as she picked up her backpack, "Yeah Danny?"

"You're not upset anymore?" he looked her over, surprised that she had let go of her mood so quickly, "I'd still be pretty upset…"

"It happens all the time really," Sam looked upwards as if asking heaven for a little more patience to help her through the day, "Usually I stay upset about it until lunch, but talking with you guys really helped me out. I just needed a second to really let it go, and now I'm fine. Thanks for listening to me ramble…and for helping me out and explaining it to Tucker. That really…meant a lot."

"No problem," Danny grinned, but felt his lips turning down as the late bell rang and Danny and Sam found themselves alone in the hall way, yet again, "Man, not today too…"

"See you in detention, Fenton," Sam laughed as she started to run down the hall, "I'll be there too, I guess!"

"Just like normal, now!" Danny called back, turning to head to his history class as quickly as Sam was. Tucker just laughed at him as he came in late and out of breath. It was turning out to be a typical day after all.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
Present  
.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Detention yesterday with Sam, detention today by myself, and I'm sure if Lancer has his way, I'll have detention tomorrow,' Danny slid into his seat, and really it was his seat as he was in there nearly everyday, rubbing his eyes tiredly and mentally revoking his last statement, 'Okay, so it's not Lancer…he's a nice guy, and I know that. I just wish I could catch a break.'

He sat and listened to the hall clearing out and watched through the door as the stragglers finished at their locker and left the building. People didn't often have detention for some reason, or they were in another classroom with one of the coaches to serve out their punishment. The sound of heavy boots had his ears perked in interest, however, as he pictured the only girl he knew that wore such weighty shoes.

Sam appeared around the doorframe a moment later, and bowed her head slightly as a blush spread over her cheeks. Danny shot her a confused look as she shuffled in and sat down at what was becoming her normal desk, next to his own, 'Okay, either she did something really bad or really embarrassing and doesn't want to talk about it…I know how that feels, so I won't ask…'

It only took ten or fifteen seconds before Danny's resolve wore down and his curiosity got the better of him, "Weren't you just in here with me yesterday?"

"Probably," Sam kept her head down as she fought her blush and brought out a book to read for detention. Her terse response had Danny even more interested in what she might have done to cause her to act so strangely. Usually she was pretty open with what she had done, and usually that only went as far as being late to a class or skipping out of a lecture.

"What'd you do to get detention again?" he shot her a grin that he knew most girls would smile back at, but only saw the side of Sam's face as her blush cooled and she immersed herself in her book, completely ignoring him, "Sam?"

"Hm?"

"So, what'd you do?" But he was ignored yet again, and starting to get impatient. He knew he wasn't the most patient of people, and readily admitted that. It probably came from having an older sister who would do the same thing to him, so who could really blame him when he leaned over to gently poke Sam in the arm to gain her attention, "Sam."

Nothing.

"Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam," he started to repeat her name as he poked her, and grinned viciously as another blush appeared on her cheeks, "What'd you do? Not, gasp, putting tacks in the teacher's chair right? Sam…"

"Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer's firm voice stopped his last poke in it's tracks, "I believe that that's quite enough. Please refrain from harassing Ms. Manson anymore during detention, thank you."

"Um, yes sir," Danny sank in his chair as his own blush appeared, and watched as Sam tried to hold back a smile as she finally raised her head and her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Manson?"

"It's Sam, sir," she corrected him gently, before glancing over at Danny, "and um, Danny wasn't harassing me. Being an annoying friend, yes, who wouldn't stop poking my arm, but not harassing."

"I see," the man glanced down at the sheet before him, then looked back up at the girl, "but why are you here? You don't have detention today."

"No, I don't," Sam grinned victoriously as Danny muttered something about stupid girls and their mind games, "Tucker Foley, Danny, and I are supposed to go the Nasty Burger after his detention, and I was wondering if I could wait in here and read? I really didn't want to sit outside with Tucker and listen to him list all the great features of his newest PDA, gadget, thingy."

"That's fine with me, so long as you read the entire time," their teacher answered, before sitting himself down and holding up the exact same book that Sam had on her desk, "Which won't be a problem as this is a particularly intriguing book, am I correct?"

"I didn't know you liked Emily Bronte," Sam shot the man a happy, quizzical look, while Danny looked between them in confusion, "Don't you love her character and plot development?"

"It is delightful," and the conversation between the two was opened as Danny sat slack jawed at his desk, his head bouncing between the two as they discussed the rather large book that they were both looking at. If anyone had looked in the window, they would have observed Danny looking between friend and teacher as if watching a tennis game.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"It was really weird," Danny teased as he held open the door for his two friends, "Mr. Lancer and Sam were really having a great time. Talking about that Bronte person and going over all the characters and the plot and everything. I don't think I've ever seen Mr. Lancer so happy, or at least not since we had those standardized tests and he had a raise…"

"And I don't think you've ever learned so much and not fallen asleep," Sam shot back, getting annoyed with Danny and Tucker's teasing after listening to it the entire walk from school to the Nasty Burger, "I bet you could tell me the plot, the main sub plot, all the romances, and the individual character's major psychological problems with the way you were listening to me and Mr. Lancer talk. If anyone deserves a teasing it's you for being such a major eavesdropper and geek."

"Girl's got a point Danny," Tucker laughed as they made it to the counter, "I'll have a triple layer with all the bacon and cheese you can stand parting with, mayo, mustard, and nothing else. Fries on the side please, and a large soda for a drink."

The enormous grin that lit Tucker's face as soon as he finished ordering was mirrored by the cashier, who rang up the rather large total and took his money, "Here's your cup, and your order number is thirty seven. Thank you for choosing Nasty Burger."

"Large strawberry shake, please," Danny's grin made the girl behind the counter smile for a different reason, Sam noticed, and listened to the two exchange the necessary money.

"Your ticket number is thirty eight, but I'm sure you knew that," the girl smiled one last time, then turned to Sam, "What would you like?"

"Um, do you have anything like a milkshake for vegans?"

"Sure," the chipper reply came, in a slightly different tone than the one used for Danny, of course, "We have soymilk milkshakes. What flavor would you like?"

"Strawberry I guess," Sam dug out a twenty from her wallet, then got her change back and her number, obviously thirty nine. Tucker and Danny were both already at a booth, chattering about who knew what as she slowly made her way over to join them.

Both thirty eight and thirty nine were called as soon as she made it to the table, as they were such easy orders to fill, and Danny popped up and smiled at Sam, "Got it, just give me your receipt."

She handed it over, then gratefully let her bag fall into the empty booth and slide in to join it, only to look up as Tucker started chuckling, "You do realize that you always sit next to Danny right?"

"I guess," Sam checked over her shoulder to see Danny still waiting to get their drinks as a man stood arguing with the server about his order, "Why?"

"Just thought that maybe something was going on," the other boy shrugged and laughed as Sam turned red, just as Danny finally got the drinks and turned around to head back.

"There isn't," Sam got out, trying to cool her cheeks, "I don't know, I guess I just feel more comfortable next to Danny because I've known him longer and talk to him more? I mean we spend an hour in detention at least once a week now that the ghosts have started getting worse, and I'm late all the time."

"You're not the only one who's late because of stupid ghosts," Danny plopped down making Sam scoot farther over with a blush and Tucker laugh at what had just happen in lieu of what they had been talking about. A strawberry soy milkshake found its way in front of Sam with a straw already inserted. Danny was working on his own while watching Tucker laugh, getting ready to break out into laughter of his own.

He snorted as he tried not to laugh, then swallowed hard and gave up, joining his friend in guffawing so hard part of the restaurant turned to look at the two boys and the blushing girl. They of course smiled, then turned with a smile to their own meal. Sam finally gave in to the absurdity of the situation and started quietly chuckling, before a patronizing smile spread across her face, she shook her head, and started laughing along.

After all, laughter is contagious, so who was Sam to try and ignore that?


	9. Wordplay

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: It's getting more and more interesting. Maybe Sam is going to start getting smart in regards to Phantom and Fenton?  
Let me know about typos!  
Oh, and it's going to be a **four chapter update today** because I won't have my computer tomorrow, and perhaps the next day. My screen is going out on my laptop and I'm sending it in to get it looked at. Cross your fingers and hope I get it back, and I hope that four chapters will tide you over!

Enjoy!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Nine: Wordplay  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"You know, it's funny how I keep seeing you around town."

Sam had run into Danny a many times the past few afternoons, whether over the weekend of after school. She had happily not had detention and had been spending her time either in the park or walking around or ending up at the Nasty Burger with both boys. Danny, as it appeared, hadn't had detention either, and was enjoying his time by running a few errands around town, or so he had said. Something about his smile had been off however, and Sam wondered what he was really up to.

"Well, I'm not stalking you, that's for sure," Danny chuckled, as he joined her on the bench and looked down at yet another book in her hands, "Maybe you're stalking me or something?"

"No," Sam closed her book with a small laugh, "I've just been sitting here reading. I saw you Friday after school and ended up going to the Nasty Burger with you and Tucker just like Thursday, then Saturday I saw you downtown twice, three times on Sunday, once yesterday after school running down the road for some reason, and now twice today. You're sure you're not stalking me?"

"Maybe I'm doing it subconsciously?" Danny joked, then held up a bag for Sam to see, "Actually I've been running all over town for my parents for the last couple of days picking up parts they need for some new invention. It's probably another ghost catching or hunting something or other, which means it's going to like me, which means I'm going to improve my vast dodge ball skills even more."

"It could be worse," Sam rolled her eyes heavenwards with a laugh at his questioning look, "You could be really bad at dodge ball."

"You're right about that," he laughed and threw his hands over the back of the bench while leaning his head back to enjoy the sunshine, "Don't mind me, I'm just an exhausted slave trying to get everything done for his parents."

"Right," Sam shook her head and set her book aside, ready to play counselor as she had the past couple of times they had run into each other, "So what's bothering you now? More sister revenge, Dad being too weird, or Mom being overprotective? I think we've covered all of those…"

"You're right, we have," the young man dramatically put a hand to his forehead, as though he were a girl in an old movie, "Whatever shall we talk about?"

"How about how weird you can be sometimes?" Sam earned herself a glare, but simply stuck out her tongue in response. Danny followed suit and made her laugh, "I'm serious, have you always been this weird or am I influencing you with my creepy Gothness?"

"Oh yes, your 'creepy Gothness' is changing me," Danny had closed his eyes and now peeked one open to look over her, noting that her hair was messed up from the wind. He tried not to laugh and continued with their conversation, "I'll be wearing black tomorrow and have eyeliner on by the end of the week, Sam. Better go apologize to my parents now…"

A playful wave of his hand earned him a light tap on top of his head from Sam's book. He quickly relieved her of said item and held it away from her on his other side as he looked it over. It was an old book, well worn and much loved as it appeared, with no title on the outside, but when Danny opened it, he found writing.

"To my dear Edward," he began to read, a puzzled look falling over his face, "Congratulations on your graduation, my boy. I'm proud of you and know you'll go far in whatever you may choose to do. I thought you'd enjoy this book as much as I have, and I hope that you always remember I love you. Mother."

"Done yet?" Sam snatched the book back, closing it gently and running a finger over the front with a wistful look on her face. Danny had been shocked when Sam had grabbed the book from him, but went from puzzled to worried at seeing her face.

"What's wrong?" he withdrew his arms to lean over, resting his elbows on his knees for balance, "I'm sorry, Sam…was that personal?"

"No," she shook her head, and put the book down once again, "It's actually Mr. Lancer's book. His mother gave it to him when he graduated high school. I had asked him for a recommendation since we had talked about Emily Bronte and he brought this to school for me yesterday. It's a really good book, just like his mother said, and just like he said."

"So, what's with the problem?" he gently nudged her knee with his own, causing a tiny blush to rise on her cheeks before she gave a weak laugh. He tried it again with a smile of his own and was rewarded with Sam finally turning to face him, her smile back in place.

"I just want my parents to be a little more understanding like his mother," the smile turned sad, but she quickly recovered and gave Danny's knee a nudge of her own, "It's not a big deal and you've heard it before about my parents. I know I complain about them a lot."

"Yeah right," Danny scoffed and leaned his head back again as he settled into the bench, "You hardly ever talk about your parents, or even yourself, and you definitely don't complain a lot. I think this is only the second or third time you've mentioned them."

"Well," she shrugged, then imitated the boy beside her and soaked up the sun, "Like I said, it's no big deal. I love them, and I know they love me, so that's what counts."

"Good," Danny smiled, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the peace of the afternoon, "Good, good."

Sam's quiet laugh was the last thing Danny heard as he slipped into sleep, thoughts of getting home forgotten as he sat with a good friend in the warm sun. Sam picked her book back up and wondered at the boy's ability to fall asleep anywhere, anytime, 'Does he _never_ sleep?'

Sam kept her vigil over Danny while she read, the afternoon sun beating down on them and warming everyone in Amity. It was getting late, but Sam didn't have anywhere to be. She simply sat and read.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

It had been an hour since Danny had joined her on the bench and Sam figured that it was getting to be time to either head home or at least send Danny on his way. He had been running errands, and even though his cell phone hadn't rang yet, Sam was sure his parents would want to have him home soon.

Snapping shut her book, Sam stretched her back, then ran a hand through part of her hair that the wind had been playing with. The single strand that always bothered her was blown back by a gentle puff of air from her lips as Sam turned to see Danny exactly as he had fallen asleep.

Her hand reached out to wake him up when an energetic red head topped the hill and called Danny's name, followed by a rather upset sounding, "Where the heck are you? Mom and Dad are going to skin you!"

Danny slept through it all, not even twitching when the older girl yelled his name once again.

"Excuse me!" Sam called as she stood and waved her hand, "Are you Jazz?"

"Huh?" Jazz turned to find the girl who had called her name, and was surprised to see her standing beside the bench her brother was apparently napping on. Her eyes widened at seeing her brother actually getting to sleep, and she quickly shushed the other girl and hurried over to where she stood.

"Jazz, right?" Sam offered her hand, "I'm Sam Manson, one of Danny's friends from school."

"Nice to meet you Sam," Jazz smiled, reminding Sam greatly of Danny in the similarities between the two, "I'm his older sister Jazz, but since you already knew that, I figure Danny told you all about me. What are you two up to in the park?"

It wasn't meant to tease, but Sam turned a little pink anyways, so used to Tucker's teasing by now, "I was just here reading when Danny showed up about an hour ago. We talked for a little bit, and then I guess he just fell asleep in the lull of conversation?"

Jazz sat down beside her brother and smiled at how he could sleep through anything, "Glad he could get some sleep, he hardly ever gets any."

"Your parents' experiments, right?" Sam picked up her book and began to repack her backpack while talking, "He said they always hone in on him or something like that. It must be a nightmare to get attacked in your own home like that."

"Something like that," Jazz grinned wryly, causing Sam pause. Her tone was sarcastic almost, hinting at something else going on, but Sam got the distinct feeling it wasn't anything bad, "Thanks for waiting with him while he slept."

"It was fine, since I had something to read," Sam slung the bag over her shoulder, and got ready to leave, "He looked really tired, so I figured I'd let him sleep. I was actually going to wake him up and send him home when you showed up. I would have done it sooner, but I figured since his phone didn't ring he didn't need to be anywhere…"

"He forgot his cell at home, like normal," Jazz held up a black and white cell phone to show Sam, "He usually leaves it on purpose though, so I guess I shouldn't say he 'forgot' it."

"I need to get home anyways," Sam looked up to see the sun sinking, "It was nice meeting you, and tell Danny to get some sleep on something a little less hard than a park bench when you wake him up."

"Will do," Jazz smiled and watched the girl walk away. When she was far enough away, Jazz turned to her brother and poked him in the side, hard. He still didn't move, and Jazz smirked, "So how long have you really been awake?"

"I dunno', maybe thirty minutes?" Danny's mouth was the only thing that moved as he kept his arms folded and his eyes closed, "I didn't want to bother her."

"That was awfully sweet of you little brother," Jazz teased and Danny finally raised his head and opened his eyes to scowl at his sister. She smiled sweetly back and ruffled his hair, messing it up even more than it had already been, 'Very sweet actually. Wonder who Sam is exactly…'

"Yeah, yeah," he waved off her hand and stood to stretch, then offered his hand and pulled his sister up off the bench, "I was bothering her earlier and not letting her read, so I figured I'd just stay quiet. No big deal, and stop poking me!"

"Do you like her?" Jazz's eyes were full of laughter and mischief as she wrapped her brother in a hug, "Aw, little Danny has another girlfriend!"

"I do not," he pushed his sister away, rolling his eyes at her, "She's my friend, and besides that, I just broke up with Valerie. I'm not going to date anyone for a little while obviously."

"You're so chivalrous little bro," Jazz smiled again, but this time in a proud way which had Danny heaving a sigh, "Seriously, you're way too sweet. Sam seems really nice though. When'd you start hanging out with her?"

"A few weeks ago, I guess," the halfa grabbed the bag that he had left beside the park bench and stretched again, trying to work out the kinks in his back, "Sam's right about sleeping on something less hard…"

"You'll live," the red head pushed his back to get him walking, "Mom and Dad aren't upset, they just want their stuff. You'll probably catch it for not having your cell phone on you."

"I know," he laughed, then groaned out something akin to a, "No…" when a blue wisp issued from his mouth.

"I got this, Danny," Jazz kindly took the bag from his hands and reached in to bring out a thermos to hand to the halfa, "You take this, I'll take the stuff back to Mom and Dad and tell them you and Tucker got sidetracked. Take your cell phone too, and then come home. Dinner's almost ready, okay?"

"Alright," Danny glanced around quickly before changing and taking the thermos and cell phone, "I'll be home as quick as I can. Thanks for covering for me Jazz."

"What are sister's for?"

A streak of light tore across the sky, then stopped a few yards in the distance. It hovered for second as Danny watched, then dropped, more than likely on some unsuspecting victim, 'Great, another person to save and then have scream because they're scared of me…'

"Danny, hurry up," he found Jazz pushing him, a worried look in her eyes, "Your friend just walked that way!"

"Sam?" he turned worried eyes to where he had seen the ghost disappear, then leapt in the air calling over his shoulder as he flew, "Thanks Jazz!"

'Anytime,' Jazz watched her sibling race off to play hero again, hoping that Sam was alright for Danny's sake as well as her own, 'Good luck and keep her and yourself safe.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

It was not just Sam that had been astonished by the shooting star that had suddenly stopped mid-flight to hover over them, but it had been Sam who put two and two together the fastest and deduced something otherworldly was happening. As rapidly as she could Sam started looking for anything to hide under or behind as the thing dropped and slammed into the road below, tearing up the street and knocking a few cars around as it did so.

A mailbox had flipped over from the impact of a giant paw crashing into it and Sam was quick to duck behind it, watching as the other people who had just exited the park with her went into a panic and started running. The creature, or ghost, whatever it happened to be, was attracted to the noise the other people were making and the movement.

Taking a deep breath Sam watched as one young man tripped, rolling to a stop just as the creature lunged forward after them. The thing's giant paws were leaving sticky, blue, glowing prints in its wake, melting the ground where they lay. Peeking over the mailbox, Sam found that part of it was corroded as well and realization swept over her.

'That man, if that thing touches him…'

That thought was more than enough to convince Sam she should do something, anything, to get that thing away from those people. She was a fast runner, probably the fastest in school if their annual presidential health testing meant anything, and she had nothing heavy in her backpack or on her to weigh her down. A second later found Sam dropping her back pack and on top of the partially melted mailbox, yelling at the top of her lungs and waving her arms as widely as she could.

"Hey! Hey thing! Yeah, you ugly!" she stomped down as hard as she could with her boots to make even more noise on the metal mailbox, "Over here! Look at me, stupid thing! I'm noisy too!"

A huffed roar had the creature turning from the cowering man slightly but it still wasn't enough to completely draw his attention away from the man. Sam hopped down from her perch and snagged a stray piece of concrete that had been torn up, "Over here, you stupid, ugly thing!"

The rock hit the creature's stump of a tail and it immediately whirled to find its attacker. Sam yelled once more and waved her arms again, and the man was forgotten, trembling in the street at his near death experience. The glowing thing moved towards Sam, gaining speed as it went, and soon Sam was the one running, jumping over the mailbox she had previously been standing on and other bits of debris.

'Okay, keep going, breath,' she coached herself, thinking on what she should do next, and praying that Phantom was around, 'Keep running, doing good. Think Sam, what am I going to do?'

She nearly tripped as she found herself turning down an alley, the thing crashing along behind her, then she shot out onto another street, with no clue where she was at. She had lived in Amity all her life, but there were parts of her town that she had never been at the insistence of her parents. Sam was regretting that now, as she kept to the main streets, not knowing where a dead end or cul-de-sac might pop up otherwise.

"Need a lift, or still afraid of flying?"

"Thank God," Sam turned her head to find Phantom flying along side of her, easily matching her pace. His hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her up against him and into the air, taking off at an even faster rate than she could have ever managed running, 'He's got to be doing at least sixty, if not more…'

"Hang on, okay?" was the last thing she heard before her world started to turn upside down, Phantom pulling a backward arch to avoid a building and the slashing paw of the creature. Up and over they went, and Sam suddenly found herself with her feet back on the ground, a hand on her waist to steady her as she heaved a deep breath, "Alright?"

His voice was sharp and demanding, and Sam simply nodded her head. It was enough for him as he suddenly shot off from her side, her hair sweeping forward over her face from the wind he created. Pushing it back she saw him flying up to punch the creature, and for some reason she forgot he was a ghost, "Don't! Phantom, don't touch him!"

The young ghost pulled up short and dodged away from the creature, shooting a beam of green light instead of actually touching it. It hit the creature's eye and while it writhed in pain and anger, he swept back to where Sam was standing, catching her as he flew and pulling her further away from the beast.

"Why can't I touch it?" he shouted over the rush of wind, looking between her paler than normal face and where he was flying towards the top of a building.

"It melts things," Sam shouted back, then stumbled slightly as they landed roughly on the roof of one of the taller building in downtown Amity, "Look at it's footprints where it was running, it's melting through concrete!"

"Right, no touching," Phantom looked grim for a moment, then frowned, "How the heck am I going to wear that thing out? I can't just keep shooting at it…"

"Wait," Sam shook her head to clear it, her flight still affecting her, but her nerves finally calming somewhat, "you're a ghost, right, so maybe the melting-thing won't affect you."

"No," he shook his head and smiled, a grateful laugh escaping his lips, "I'm glad you didn't think that earlier or I might not have a hand anymore…I'm as real as anything else it's melted so far…"

"Oh," Sam stood in shock, relieved beyond belief that she had yelled out in blind panic. She would have been wracked with guilt if Phantom had been hurt and she hadn't warned him. Just then a horrid wail rose from down below and Phantom was back in the air and down to fight with the ghost creature again.

Sam approached the edge of the building of cautiously, still slightly dizzy from everything that had just happened. Peeking over and down had her closing her eyes for a second at the height, then looking down on the fight that raged between Phantom and the thing. Looking closer now that she was safe, Sam observed that it looked a bit like a cat.

'A really ugly cat,' she tilted her head to the side humorously as she thought, then noticed the cat-like creature was staying as far away from a broken fire hydrant as possibly, even while it fought, 'No way…it can't be that simple…'

It already looked damp, and definitely smaller, and as Sam looked at the water spilling down a storm drain, it appeared to be glowing slightly blue, and Sam wanted to laugh at how silly and simple the answer was. The creature was some sort of cat-ghost-thing, for lack of better terminology, and the water had made it howl in pain earlier when they hadn't been watching it.

'The only problem now, is getting his attention to tell him,' Sam grasped the edge of the short wall and leaned out as far as she dared, bracing herself while she shouted, "PHANTOM!"

The ghost's head snapped up at her yell, and he nearly lost his head for it. Dodgeing back at the last second, the young ghost streaked upwards, worry and fear all over his face as he reached her, "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just," Sam had been shocked at his sudden arrival, "I had to get your attention somehow. That thing, cat, whatever, the water hurts it."

She pointed downwards and kept talking, directing him towards the hydrant which had been snapped off its base, "It howled because it had snapped off the hydrant and got drenched. Look, it looks wet and it's definitely smaller than it was, and I saw the water going down the storm drain and it looked blue."

"Awesome," a bright smile lit the halfa's face as his eyes burned a brighter green, "This is going to be a piece of cake!"

He shot off again, and left Sam wondering why he was so happy at her announcement. How in the world did he plan on getting that cat-thing into the water? She leaned over to watch what he had proclaimed as easy, but feared was going to be a very hard fight.

Danny smirked viciously as he shot once again at the creature to turn it's attention away from the building and back towards him. He was directly behind the water spurting from the hydrant now and reached out, turning it to ice instantly, before slamming into it as hard as he could. It went flying and hit the ghost cat hard, trapping it under part of it.

"Gotcha'," Danny laughed as he let a huge ball of energy build up in his hands, then sent it towards the ice, melting it the closer it got, causing the cat to scream in pain and shrink. It was a fourth of its original size by the time Danny's energy ball hit it, knocking it out. An opened thermos later and the cat was gone, though the damage to the street was immense.

'Just another thing to get blamed for,' the halfa heaved a sigh as he made sure the thermos was tightly capped, then headed back to the top of the building to fetch Sam, 'Hope she isn't in shock or something from flying…she seemed okay, but her adrenaline rush has probably burned off by now.'

"Sam?" he popped back over the ledge and found her sitting with her back to it, arms wrapped around her legs. Her head came up at her name, and she gracefully stood and smoothed out her skirt, "Are you okay?"

He was being very cautious, which didn't go unnoticed by Sam, "I'm fine. Flying wasn't as bad as it could be I guess…"

Phantom barked out a laugh at her remark, thankful that she wasn't too upset or shaken up by what had just happened with the cat creature. The random piece of hair that always bothered her chose that moment to fall into her eyes, and she gave an angry huff to blow it back off her face.

"Why don't you just get a clip or something?"

It was out of his mouth before he could stop it, and he turned his head away berating himself, 'Stupid, you say that all the time as Fenton, Phantom does not say that!'

"I don't know," Sam answered, then tried to change the subject, suddenly very uncomfortable that he had said something so reminiscent of Danny, "How am I suppose to get down? I don't think the roof hatch is unlocked on this building."

"I was gonna' fly you down, but if you want I can just phase you through the door so you can walk down the stairs," he pointed towards the door with a shrug, "but, flying is faster and that's a heck of a lot of stairs to walk down."

"I guess, flying would be alright," Sam locked eyes with him, a deep breath being drawn in by both of them, "No loops this time though."

"Oh fine," he laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her up in the air, "but you're taking the fun out of it."

She laughed nervously then, grasping his hand tightly as it was the only thing keeping her in the air. She felt weightless, light as air, and it was a strange feeling indeed. Danny shook his head at her reaction and slowly started pulling them downwards, and when they finally landed he shook his hand to regain some feeling, "You have a really strong grip."

"Sorry," Sam winced for him, then started looking around, not recognizing the street they were on, "You wouldn't happen to know where we are would you?"

"Right outside of downtown," Phantom pointed towards some taller buildings a few blocks over, "We're on the east side of town. Your house is," he took a moment to orientate himself, then pointed to their left, "that way. It's probably not all that far, actually. A few blocks over, and maybe seven blocks down."

"Okay," Sam shook her head. Watching Phantom point had been like watching Danny point, and her head was starting to hurt, 'They look an awful lot alike…'

"I gotta' run," a cell phone was ringing and Phantom was starting to nervously look around, "Be careful on the way home, and don't get chased by anymore ghosts."

"Right," Sam laughed, watching as he started away, "Bye and thank you."

"Nah, this time it's thank you," he smiled down, pausing in the air to give a rather dashing bow, "You figured out how to beat that thing, so I definitely owe you."

"Think of it as me paying you back for all the saves," Sam rolled her eyes and turned to where he had said her house was, "Seven down and a few over right?"

"Yep," and he was gone. Disappeared, and the cell had stopped ringing.

Sam was quickly on her way, not wanting a repeat of what had happened. The image of Danny pointing kept popping up, followed by Phantom pointing. It had been so strange, 'But like I always say, coincidences always happen for a reason…even if that contradicts the word's meaning…'

That night, both Sam and Danny were fussed over by their parents. Danny because he had seen such a great ghost fight and was supposed to relate all the details he could remember, while listening to Jazz laugh at his made up account from the sidelines.

Sam was fussed over because their precious child had been caught in a ghost fight, and any previous altercations were forgotten, even her being out so late. They were just thankful she was alright, and for once, Sam felt welcomed by her parents instead of crushed by them. It was almost enough to push the riddle of who Phantom really was out of her head.

Almost.


	10. Social Conversation

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Ooooh, there's an admission of like in this chapter…and I'm going to giggle giddily now…  
Not edited, so you know the drill.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Ten: Social Conversation  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Good morning," Danny leaned right against Sam's locker before she could get to the dial, causing her to roll her eyes and shove him out of the way good naturedly, "Pushy, pushy…"

"I'm only pushy when I'm tired, or when there's a boy blocking me from getting to my locker," Sam smiled wryly as she dialed in her combination and opened her locker, "Unfortunately for you, I was experiencing both at that moment in time and had to shove you out of the way accordingly."

"Right," Danny held out his hands for Sam to pile her books on, which she did with a small grin of thanks. He'd never offered to hold her books before, and it was sweet of him to do so, especially since she had to have one for each of her classes until lunch, "Four books today?"

"Yep," Sam reached to take them after closing her locker, but found Danny pulling away with the books balanced on one arm, and a smile in his eyes, even as he kept a straight face, "Care to give them back?"

"You don't have a backpack," the boy pointed out, leaning contentedly against the lockers and holding her books in his arms, "You don't really want to stand there and hold these until the bell rings do you?"

"Not particularly," Sam raised an eyebrow and tried for her books again, only to find Danny quite capable of dodging her attempts, "At least give me a couple to hold, we'll split the load or something. Actually, give me three of them, they're my books and my responsibility."

"Doesn't bother me," the halfa settled back down, then looked over at Sam's tired form. Her arms were crossed and her foot was tapping out a very fast rhythm. She wasn't even bothering to get that stray lock of hair out of her eyes, "What? Don't look at me like that."

"Oh, exchanging looks now?" Tucker walked up and pushed Danny a little, then noticed the books in his arms, "I know those aren't all yours…"

"Nope," Danny shook his head, looking over at Sam, "Sam doesn't have a backpack and is tired and irritated. I was just trying to be nice and hold her books for her, like a gentleman is supposed to, but she goes and gets all whiney about it…"

"I was not whining about it," Sam growled out, stopping her foot tapping in favor of glaring venomously up at the much taller boy, "I just wanted my books, I was even willing to _compromise_," here the glare swung to Tucker, before her attention returned to Danny, "like some people think I should, but even that was refused."

"Just being nice," Danny's statement was done in a sing-song tone, his eyes wondering over the others in the hall as he pursed his lips for a second, "I could just let you stand here and hold them, and then your arms would hurt and you'd be even more tired…"

"Then you'd be even more whiney and in a much worse mood," Tucker joined in, nodding his head knowingly as he leaned against the lockers on the other side of Sam in the now usual order of standing, "Then at lunch we'd probably be hit over the head with carrots and broccoli until we ate it, which would totally ruin my meat eating rep."

"Probably," Danny agreed over the miffed Sam's head, who had finally shoved the stray lock of hair viciously off her forehead and leaned back to listen to the two boys talk over her, "And then she'd probably throw a chair at me for offering her a napkin or something."

"Better not ask if I can take her tray with mine to the window," the other boy wiped his glasses off, nodding sagely again, "I'd probably get a spork shoved up my nose. That would definitely be painful."

"Both of you are going to be sporked and have asparagus shoved down your throat if you don't shut up," she slyly grabbed a book off the pile Danny was holding and wrapped her arms around it stubbornly, "Don't say anything, I just want something to hold so I don't feel utterly useless like I did last night."

"What happened last night?" Tucker shot a look to Danny, wondering if it had anything to do with the huge ghost fight that had torn up downtown. A nod was his answer just as Sam started talking.

"There was this huge ghost right when I was leaving the park," Sam looked down at her book, taking in a deep breath and replaying her hectic evening in her mind, "Everybody started running and screaming and this one guy tripped. The cat-thing ghost, whatever, went for him, so I…I stood up on a broken mailbox and threw a chunk of rock at the cat to get its attention…"

"You did what?" Danny nearly dropped the books he was holding and barely managed to keep them from hitting the floor before he rounded on the girl, and took in Tucker and Sam's shocked faces. Looking past his two friends he saw several other people looking at him. He'd obviously been a bit loud, "Sorry, it's just…"

"Yeah, it was stupid, no need to yell," Sam held the book under one of her arms and pushed her hair back slightly, "Anyways, and don't yell at me again Danny Fenton, it started chasing me down the street. I went through a side alley that I knew didn't have a dead end and ended up on a street I'd never seen before. Fortunately that Phantom guy showed up."

"Yeah," Danny snorted, bothered by the fact that all that had happened before he had gotten to her, "and saved you from getting melted…"

"I didn't say anything about that," Sam's brow dropped as she turned to study Danny, who was blushing slightly and turned awkwardly away from her, "How did you know about that cat melting stuff?"

"I saw it on the news this morning and I just…" he looked to Tucker for help, but Tucker was lost for ideas and left Danny to get out of this one on his own, "…put two and two together and figured you would have gotten melted. I'm just angry that one of my friends would risk their life like that."

"I was fine," Sam snapped, reaching over to take her books from his hold as the bell rang, "I'm actually one of the best runners in this school, sprint or long distance, and I figured I'd have a better chance of out running it than most of the people on the street so I took a chance."

"I…Sam I'm sorry, I shouldn't have," but he never got any further in his apology as she stomped off to her class, leaving both boys in her wake. Tucker pitied Danny in that moment, as the boy knew exactly what had happened after that, and how much danger Sam had really been in.

"It'll be fine Danny," Tucker patted his friend on the shoulder, "She'll cool off, and then you can apologize."

"It'd be a lot easier being her friend if she knew," he let his head hit the metal behind him and reveled in the ache it caused for a moment as it distracted him, "Every time I run into her as…you know, I end up doing something stupid. Last night I told her to buy a clip for her hair, like I do all the time."

"How'd she react?"

"She looked at me funny, like she did in the hallway that day I told you about me and Valerie taking some time off, Tuck," the halfa wearily peeled himself off of the lockers to stand up, "I can't keep bumping into her as Phantom, but it's not like I can't save her if there's a ghost after her. She's like a ghost magnet…"

"Maybe she won't figure it out," the other boy shrugged and started off with Danny in tow, ready to face their history class, "It'll be like Superman, only you change colors instead of eyewear."

"Oh, ha ha, Tucker," Danny slumped into his seat, dreading lunch and the wrath of Sam, "You're a riot."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'He was just concerned,' Sam took a deep breath as she sat in her last class before lunch, getting ready to talk to Lancer, who was substituting in their class, about loosing his book in the heat of the moment, 'He got angry because he was worried, and he tried to apologize.'

She was trying to talk herself out of being upset with Danny, but it had seemed especially difficult as she stayed mad all through the morning. She knew from the moment he had yelled and startled her in the hall that he was just worried, not really angry, but she couldn't get it out of her head, 'He didn't mean I should have left the guy to die, I know that…he just didn't want me risking my neck. He didn't want to loose a friend.'

That thought calmed Sam down the most, as it had been doing every time she thought it for the past few hours. Danny had been right about her arms aching from carrying her books with her, and was secretly thankful he'd held them for her that morning. Her arms would have been killing her by this point if he hadn't.

'I'll talk to Mr. Lancer, stop by my locker to drop off these stupid, heavy books, then talk to Danny at lunch,' and with a satisfied nod, Sam set her attention back on her notes and listened to her teacher's lecture. The bell followed scant seconds later, and Sam had to mentally pause to keep herself from stabbing her pen through her notebook. It was the only one she had brought to school that day and ruining it just wouldn't do.

"Where's your backpack?" one of the girls beside Sam inquired as the class stood to leave the room, Sam with her arms full of books.

"Lost it in that huge ghost fight yesterday," she replied tersely, then headed to the front of the room where Mr. Lancer had turned to look at her at her statement, "And yes, I'm sorry, but your book was in it Mr. Lancer."

"You are quite alright though?" the man kindly looked over her, reminding Sam of a mother hen attitude, "You were not harmed?"

"No I'm fine," Sam smiled, then set her books on the edge of the desk and tore off a piece of paper to write on, "I know that I can't replace the book exactly, but my family knows a book dealership that can find rare books. I know the title and the author, but if you remember the year, I can get you a copy of it to replace the one I lost."

"Oh, that's not necessary," Mr. Lancer waved the girl off, "It has my address in the back, so if it survived it will hopefully make its way to me. If not, or if it was destroyed, it's fine. I'm just glad that you are safe and sound."

"Thank you Mr. Lancer, but at least tell me the year it was published," Sam wheedled again, feeling terribly guilty about the book, "Please?"

"It was a first edition, 1876," he replied tiredly as he sat down, "I doubt you'll be able to find it…"

Sam was already on her phone though, not paying attention to the man as she read off the information on the book, "Right, yes, 1876 first edition. Have it delivered to the vice-principal of Casper High and charge it to the usual account. Yes, thank you, tomorrow will be perfect."

With a neat snap, her cell phone was off and tucked back in her pocket and a smile broke beatifically across her face, "Your book will arrive tomorrow afternoon, Mr. Lancer. I really am sorry I lost your original copy though. I know your mother gave it to you…"

"Thank you, but that was entirely unnecessary," the man shook his head, looking over the petite girl, "That book will assuredly cost far too much and…"

"It's fine," Sam called over her shoulder as she walked out, "Consider it payback for all the times I've fallen asleep at one of the assemblies Mr. Lancer."

The older man could only chuckle, sending silent blessings her way for being such a kind human being.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey Tuck," Sam slid into her normal chair and looked at a tray without an owner already in front of the seat beside her, "Where's Danny?"

"He's probably hiding from you," the other boy answered without thinking, and received an invisible smack to his head for it, "Ow! I mean…it's hot…and Danny went to the restroom."

"Doesn't look that hot," Sam glanced over at the pile of potatoes that Tucker had complained about, not seeing any steam, but figured that maybe the boy just found an uncommonly warm bite of it, "I know you're going to tease me about it, but I'm going to ask anyway. Do you think I made Danny mad when I walked away this morning?"

'No,' Danny stood silently and invisibly behind Tucker, trying to decide if he should show up to lunch or not. Right now all signs were pointing to show up…

"No, but he thinks you're mad at him," Tucker chewed on a hunk of meat for a moment before turning a sly eye to Sam, "Are you?"

"Not really, I just…reacted wrong," she played with her food as she thought, slightly hunched over and worried about how she upset her first good friend, "That guy had fallen and was too scared to move…I had to do something, but…I understand what Danny was saying too. It was probably pretty dumb of me to get the cat's attention and run."

"Maybe," the young man smiled, then flicked a piece of carrot at her causing her to laugh and roll her eyes, "but it was really brave. Danny probably thought so too, but he had a good point. It's one thing for Phantom to fight with a ghost, because he has powers that put him on an equal playing field. It's another thing for you to do it. You don't even have any ghost fighting stuff…which is why I'm going to hand over one of my most prized possessions."

As Tucker dug through his backpack, Danny made a quick exit, only to reenter the cafeteria, this time visibly and sit in his chair next to Sam. Just as he opened his mouth to speak however, Tucker popped back up and presented Sam with a lipstick tube, "Here you go!"

"Your prize possession is lipstick?" Sam took the tube and looked at it carefully, taking in the word 'Fenton' written across it, "Wait…I've seen this before."

"Yeah, in my locker after detention one day," Danny laughed, "You told me you knew my 'dirty little secret' and I probably looked like I was having a heart attack."

At his announcement, Tucker burst out laughing, nearly spraying the pair across the table with the tea he had just taken a sip of. As he started coughing and sputtering out his laughter, Sam's eyes lit with recognition and she carefully pulled the top off the tube, only to have both Tucker and Danny's hands land on her own, pointing it away from the table and towards the ceiling.

"Careful," Tucker warned, keeping his hand where it was until he was sure Sam wouldn't accidentally set it off, "The first time I ever shot that thing I was knocked on my butt."

"It's little, but it's strong," Danny cautioned as well, finally slipping his hand away after Tucker did so, "My Mom invented that one, so you know it packs a punch. All you have to do is aim and squeeze the tube. That causes the chemicals inside to bond, creating a concentrated mixture of ectoplasmic substances that come out of the lipstick…and no, it's not useable."

"Green's not really my shade anyways," Sam gently capped the tube and slid it into her pocket next to her cell phone, "It won't accidentally go off will it?"

"No, the cap acts like a safety and keeps it from firing," Danny smiled, then turned away slightly, "I really am sorry about this morning. I hope you're not still mad."

"Forget it," Sam kindly waved it off, "I was just tired and overreacting. We're cool."

"Good," Danny sank further in his seat, "but why were you up so late? Overly excited about your first ghost chase?"

"Not really," Sam shook her head as she continued with the story from that morning, "Phantom had picked me up and moved me, but eventually he moved me to a rooftop and out of the way. He was fighting when I figured out that thing didn't like water and I told him. I didn't know ghosts could…make ice like that. I mean, I knew Phantom was cold from when he was holding me, but he wasn't that cold."

"He held you huh?" Tucker winked discreetly at Danny and saw a blush spread over his cheeks, enjoying the fact that Danny couldn't fight back without revealing himself, "All close and personal with that ghost, Sam?"

"N-no," she shook her head, a blushing cropping up just as Danny's had, "He picked me up when I was running by grabbing me around the waist, and when he was flying he had me pretty close, but I doubt 'personal' had anything to do with it, and the giant cat thing that was trying to kill us wasn't really anything to pay attention to."

Her dry tone had both boys convinced, though her blush stayed in place, "Like I said I eventually ended up on top of a building and out of the way I guess. We talked for a minute before he took me back down to the street and helped me figure out where I was. It was really weird," here she laughed and turned to look at Danny, who suddenly felt like Sam knew a little too much, "Phantom kind of reminds me of you sometimes."

The bomb dropped and Tucker paused in his eating, fork halfway to his mouth and wide eyed. Danny went a funny color, somewhere between blushing and paling as far as Sam could figure, and neither boy made a sound, "I know it sounds really ridiculous, but he was pointing something out to me, and he stood exactly the same way you do when you point, Danny. Maybe he's a relative of yours that died a long time ago or something. Wouldn't that be weird?"

"Yeah," Danny croaked out, managing a convincing laugh as he shared a look with Tucker, "That would be pretty weird, but who knows? Maybe he's a closer relative than you think?"

It was all in good fun, but Danny couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable even as it slipped from his mouth. Would Sam knowing be a bad thing, or would it help him? She certainly had spunk, and had already proved herself in the face of two very frightening ghosts. Still, Danny couldn't help worrying. She shouldn't have to deal with his problems as extensively as Tucker and Jazz did, and he didn't like the thought of her constantly facing ghosts with him or because of him. He brought all sorts of trouble to the people who knew.

Sam laughed at his statement, shaking her head at Danny's antics, her thoughts following a slightly brighter path than Danny's own as she and Tucker got into another debate about meat and vegetables. Danny soon gave up on his brooding thoughts, figuring nothing else would happen to give Sam more clues, and joined in on their conversation, trying to be as charming as he could to make up what had happened between them earlier.

'She may have said that everything was cool,' Danny smiled brightly at Sam again, noticing a faint blush appear, 'but it never hurts to be good to you friends.'

'If he smiles at me again like that, I'm going to look like a giddy, blushing schoolgirl,' Sam fussed at herself while keeping up her end of the conversation with the boys, 'He's my friend, but even I can see he's good looking. I guess it doesn't hurt that he's being so dang sweet too…'

'Man,' Tucker watched the pair carefully, taking notice of Danny's sudden change, 'I thought he was just worrying over nothing, but Sam's pretty sharp. She's getting closer and closer and doesn't even know it. A few more slips and she may have him, but I doubt Danny's going to give up being her friend…they work too well…'

"What's wrong, Tuck?" Sam pulled him out of his own thoughts as she finished off her salad and moved on to her mashed potatoes, "You look like you're really thinking hard about something, and not to sound mean, but you don't usually brood like that."

"Just thinking I guess," Tucker grinned, then decided to really get the pair thinking, "When you two get together I'm going to be the third wheel. I'm just trying to figure out who I can get with before that happens…"

He was rewarded with two bright blushes, and many stuttered replies of denial. Of course, Tucker had dealt with denial before. He was best friends with Danny after all, so he actually was an expert when it came to dealing with it.

Having Jazz for a friend didn't hurt either, he thought laughingly to himself and continued to mercilessly tease the pair the rest of lunch.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"No detention today?" Sam quirked her eyebrow and smiled as Danny caught up with her on her trek to her locker, "This has to be a record Mr. Fenton, congratulations."

"Thank you, thank you," Danny played along, his worries from lunch long forgotten as he bantered with Sam, "I am amazing, yes I know. Maybe I'll go a whole week without getting one…that's when you can celebrate, Sam. You can even buy me a cake or a card or something."

"Well, that means that I never have to worry about buying you anything," Sam shot back, laughing at how silly they could act and how freeing it felt to just tease and laugh with her friend.

"Aw, not even a birthday cake or card or present or…a birthday candle or anything?"

"A birthday candle?" Sam handed over her books to the already waiting Danny then opened her locker, "If I'm going to get you a birthday candle, I can at least spring for the cake too. What's with all the birthday talk, is yours coming up soon?"

"No," Danny laughed, "but I couldn't think of anything else to say. Wait, is your birthday coming up?"

"I'll only tell you when my birthday is if you tell me when your birthday is. Tucker's too," Sam smiled to herself as she busied herself with her things, stuffing books into the dark space as Danny handed them to her. She nearly laughed as she imagined the face Danny would make while rolling her eyes at her request.

"Tucker's is January twenty-fourth, so you've already missed his this time around," Danny leaned his head back, a smirk on his face as he handed over the last of Sam's books and waited for her to turn around, "and before I tell you mine, you have to tell me yours. I gave up Tucker's as a…good-will offering of faith."

"You're not really a C student are you?" Sam joked as she reached up and knocked on his head, "This certainly seems a lot more full than a C student's would be."

"I dunno'," Danny laughed and rubbed at his forehead, "My Mom and Dad are both geniuses in their own ways, and Jazz is a psychological child prodigy. I'm just Danny, who wants to be an astronaut, but probably won't get the chance."

"Get your grades up Mr. Smart Guy Who Hides It and maybe you will," Sam opened her notebook and wrote down Tucker's birthday lest she forget, then turned back to dealing with Danny, "My birthday is December thirteenth, so you missed out on it as well."

"Nah," Danny shook his head and started for the door with a surprised Sam following in his wake and looking for Tucker, "I'll catch you next semester."

"Oh," it hadn't occurred to Sam that she would still have her friends, but now that it was said, it seemed obvious, "Where's Tucker at?"

"He said he had something to do with the computers in the lab today and to leave without him," Danny opened the door for Sam and put up with her fussing about being a capable and independent woman as he always did. He got a 'Thank you,' just as he always did and grinned in spite of himself, "Anyway, now that we're done with birthdays…"

"You didn't tell me yours though," Sam cut in, as they headed down the stairs, feeling odd that she was walking without a backpack, "and I know the deal was my birthday for yours."

"Darn," Danny rubbed at the back of his neck and looked around for a way out, but found nothing but Jazz sitting in her car and waiting for him, 'What in the world?'

"So?" Sam pressed as they suddenly stopped walking, confusion written across her features, "Your birthday is…?"

"Oh, um, September twenty-ninth," Danny looked back at Sam once, then back over to Jazz's car where his sister was enthusiastically waving them both over, "Jazz is here…weird."

"Hey Danny, hey Sam," Jazz opened her door to stand as they approached, a wide smile on her face, "Where's Tucker?"

"He said he had something to do in the computer lab and to head off without him," Danny answered as he rested his hand on the door, Sam standing just behind him, "I kinda' thought he would meet us at the Nasty Burger…"

"Well, you're going to have to cancel," the red head handed a note to Danny as she looked over to Sam, "Sorry about this, but I'm going to have to steal him. Mom and Dad decided to do their wigwam thing, the house is a wreck, and one of the government grant providers decided today was the perfect chance to visit. We have to get the house ship-shape before supper and convince Mom and Dad to stop cleansing their spirits."

"Sounds like a lot," Sam looked between the siblings, not sure what a wigwam had to do with anything, but then again, the Fentons had always been a strange group as far as most people were concerned, "Need any help?"

"Oh, no," Danny handed the note back to his sister with a grimace, "We've got it, and we can't actually have other people in the house while the government people are there. Me and Jazz have to stay upstairs during the whole thing…it's really boring."

'I wish she could come though,' Danny frowned as he moved to throw his backpack in the backseat, 'at least it wouldn't be so boring, and she'd be one more person for those stupid Guys in White to get distracted by. Then again, if anything goes wrong, she'd get more than she bargained for…'

"Guess I'll see you later," Danny smiled as he walked around the car to get in, "Have fun at the Nasty Burger."

"I think I'll just head home," Sam returned the gesture and then nodded to Jazz, "It's not a sure thing that Tucker will show up and sitting alone at the Nasty Burger isn't exactly fun."

"I'll give him a call on the way home then," Danny laughed and shut the door, "See ya' around."

"Yeah," Sam gave him another one of her strange looks, as though seeing someone else in his place as she spoke, "See ya'."

Jazz pulled away then, trying to get her thoughts in order as her brother sat far too quietly beside her, gnawing at his lips with his arms folded over his chest, "Alright, what's wrong? I'm sorry if it's about not getting to hang out with Sam."

"No, it's not that," Danny let his head hit the seat behind him, then let out a long breath, "She keeps looking at me like…I dunno'."

"Like she likes you?" Jazz teased, "Because she does look at you kinda' cute…"

"Jazz," she was sent a rather annoyed look, but reveled in the blush she had caused, "Seriously."

"Okay, okay, seriously," she turned down the radio, understanding that when he wanted to be, Danny could be as mature and serious as any adult, sometimes more so, "What's she looking at you like?"

"Like she expects Phantom instead of Fenton sometimes," he shook his head and ran a tired hand over his eyes, "Last night I found Sam with that ghost after her and put her up on a roof to keep her safe. When I went to bring her back down, her hair fell in her eyes like it always does, and like I always do I told her she should get a clip."

"Like you always do, as Phantom or as Fenton?" Jazz knew the answer, but wanted to be sure, knowing where the conversation was going already and how much it was probably troubling her brother.

"As Fenton, but then Phantom said it and then today she said she noticed that Phantom looked like me, Fenton, when he pointed something out to her," a frustrated sound escaped his mouth, "and just now I said, 'See ya' around,' and she looked at me weird again and I think I said that to her the other day as Phantom, but I can't remember! It's getting really hard to keep up with what I say to her as a ghost and what I say to her as a guy…"

"So you're worried that she's figuring it out," Jazz took a moment to process everything Danny had told her, turning over each fact in her mind as she continued to drive home, "If she does figure it out, it could be a good thing…"

That was apparently the wrong thing to say when she saw Danny fold his arms again out of the corner of her eyes, "Or it could just cause a huge mess, and get her into something she doesn't need or want to be in. Everyone who knows who and what I am ends up in trouble just like me. It's not exactly fair."

"Still little brother, you have to admit," Jazz paused as she turned on her blinker and turned a corner, ready to get home and get the work done, "It could be a good thing."

"I guess so," Danny turned to look out the window, feeling a little better for having had someone to talk to about it, "but I think I have another problem…"

"What else?" Jazz smiled at his blushing reflection in the window and felt she already knew.

"I think I'm starting to like her," and he buried his face in his hands as Jazz started to giggle, 'So much for anymore sisterly advice today…'


	11. Intelligent Conversation

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: A nod to the fans of Ranma ½, such as myself, in this one. Chaos factor is the only way to explain the crazy coincidences sometimes, lol…  
Um, the very first part of this chapter ties back in at the very last part of this chapter. Think of the middle part as a sort of flashback, I guess…

Enjoy!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Eleven: Intelligent Conversation  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Sam Manson was never one who would 'freak out', as people might term it. She looked at the odd or unusual with delight generally, enjoyed the strange and macabre, and took part in the subcultures that lurked in Amity Park with glee. She had faced down ghosts, both small and large, and had managed to keep her cool, so why was she now in such a panicky state?

'I can handle this,' Sam dropped onto her bed, her leg throbbing and a huge bruise taking up part of her calf, much worse than the one that had been on her shoulder blade a few weeks ago, 'I don't need to be pacing around like a crazy person because I am not freaking out and because my leg hurts. I am _not_ freaking out.'

'This is just too weird,' Sam fell backwards and pulled a pillow to her chest, 'Why me? I've already determined there's nothing special about me to attract ghosts, so why am I, and what the hell was up with Phantom?'

Sam shook her head and buried further into her pillow, 'This has to rank up there as one of the weirdest days ever…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
Earlier That Day  
.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"See you later!" Tucker pulled off his cap and nodded his head to Sam with a serious look on his face, which soon turned into a pout, "Are you sure you can't come? Eating with Danny is so _boring _without you now! Please, please, please?"

"Hey, I'm not the boring one," Danny retorted, then twisted away from a rather violent swipe of a hat from Tucker, "Seriously Sam, come with us, pretty please?"

"I can't you guys," Sam rolled her eyes as her two friends rushed her, Danny grabbing her bag away, Tucker slipping the book from her hands, and both taking off down the road. Sam gave them a head start, feeling bad that she would overtake them so quickly, then was off after her things, "Get back here, right now!"

She easily overtook the boys, who were huffing a bit by the time she got to them, then passed them up and started running backwards with careful glances over her shoulder to make sure she didn't trip or run over anyone. The boys slowed their run, then stopped altogether as Sam kept jogging in place, "Don't stop now, we were just starting to warm up."

"You're nuts, absolutely crazy, woman," Tucker leaned over with his hands braced on his knees, "That's it, I have to start exercising."

"I'll take my stuff back now," she expectantly held out her hand, the other over her stomach as she stood and waited. Danny looked at Tucker and grinned, at which Tucker turned to look between Sam and the other boy and grinned as well, "What?"

Sam wasn't at all liking that little smirk on Danny's face as he stood up straight and started walking towards her, both his own backpack and hers handed off to the manically grinning Tucker who seemed to be on something she wasn't aware of.

"Always wanted to kidnap someone," Danny grinned as he suddenly ran at Sam and lowered himself to set his shoulder in her stomach, then lifted to heft her in the air, his arm wrapping around legs to keep her from off balancing herself, "Think she'll get me a ransom or something? She's pretty enough."

"Danny, put me down!"

"Oh yeah," Tucker laughed and waved a hand in the air as both boys started off and Sam hit Danny's back twice before giving up on that idea, "She'll get you something. Definitely. Now, on to the Nasty Burger!"

"Put me down or else! I'm serious, Danny, I have a skirt on!"

"Onwards!" Danny echoed his friend and they headed to their destination. Sam tried hitting one more time, as her pleas were falling on deaf ears, and realized that under his t-shirt, Danny had a wiry, muscled frame that sported more strength than he ever showed off, 'Obviously he can hold me like it's nothing…he must work out, but he doesn't seem the type.'

Sam's thoughts cut themselves off as an idea flashed through her mind, and the only warning Danny got was a confused, "Why are you smiling, Sam?" from Tucker.

The next thing he knew, Sam had her wickedly sharp teeth sunk into his back, right below the shoulder blade, though honestly she didn't bite hard. His arm clamped down even harder around her legs in his shock, thankfully remembering to not drop the girl. Tucker stood watching from behind as Sam didn't just bite him, but kept biting him while Danny twitched slightly, 'At least he didn't drop her on her head…'

'Well, he didn't drop me,' Sam thought as she decided to just give up and removed her teeth, leaving Danny still standing shock still, 'If he didn't let me go with me biting him like this he probably won't….'

"Sam," Danny ground out, stuck between surprise and amusement, "Did you just…did you bite me?"

"Well, you won't put me down, and your shoulder is bony," she retorted and folded her arms as best she could, ignoring Tucker's laughter, "I had to do something, but it obviously didn't work."

"I could have dropped you on your head," Danny leaned down with a frown and set Sam back on her feet, one hand on her waist until she caught her balance and stepped away, "I'm sorry I made you mad and didn't put you down…"

"I wasn't mad," Sam looked to Tucker for a little help, and the boy smiled and nodded once, showing his support, "I was just…playing. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," the halfa twisted around funnily as he pulled up part of his shirt and tried to catch sight of the bite mark that had surely been left, displaying to Sam that she was correct in her assumption of muscles on his frame, "Well, that'll be fun to explain to anyone who sees it."

"Aw, you should be proud," Tucker poked it hard, earning a hiss for his efforts, then grinned up at Sam, "First hickey…we should take a picture."

And he did so with his phone as Danny tried to pull away, but failed, "Tucker I swear you ever show anyone that and I'll skin you. I know where you sleep…"

"Idle threats," the brown eyed boy laughed, wiping his eyes as tears came with his mirth, "I'm so posting this on the internet…"

"You do and I'll find out where you sleep and help Danny," Sam ground out, her cheeks darkening to an unnatural hue of red, "I was just playing and I needed down, because unlike boys, girls wear skirts…"

She let that sink for a moment as both their faces tinged with pink, realizing what she was talking about. Sam finally got the chance to snag her book from Tucker's hands and her backpack from Danny as the two young men tried to apologize and fight down their blushes. Sam just laughed and waved them off, once again ready to head towards home.

"Are you sure you can't come with us," Danny recovered first and caught up, "I'll even buy you a strawberry soy milkshake."

"You drive a hard bargain Danny Fenton, but I really can't," Sam smiled as she stood at the street corner where they would part ways, "My parents finally noticed that I wasn't getting home as soon as I should, and for once all they asked was that I come home on time today. I'm cutting it close as it is just playing around with you…two. You two."

"Oh, well," Danny's hand snuck up to the back of his neck without permission as he shot her an contrite grin, "You'd better get going."

"Yeah, we don't want you to be late," Tucker grinned, making shooing motions with his hands, "So get going, I'll just have to die of boredom."

"Alright, I'm gone," Sam laughed and started for home as Danny and Tucker headed to eat. She stopped on the opposite side of the street and gathered her nerve, "Hey Danny?"

"Yeah?" he wheeled around, causing Tucker to pause, "What's up?"

"I'll take a rain check on that milkshake," and with a shy smile Sam turned once more and walked. Danny smiled and turned back too, rolling his eyes at Tucker's grinning face.

"Shut up, Tuck," and they were off as well, both boys looking forward to a meal, but only Tucker really thinking about it. Danny's mind was more on the promised milkshake for Sam and the smile sent his way.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"We've really…got to stop…meeting like this," Phantom ground out as his shield started to crack against the onslaught launched by Technus' latest suit. Sam stood with her back to the wall, wondering if perhaps she should have listened to Tucker and Danny and stayed with them. She was certainly wondering just how unlucky a girl had to be to find herself in such a situation, though on the bright side she had her own personal superhero to rescue her.

'Okay, if I'm starting to think of him as a superhero and sound like some teenage pop bubblegum girl in my mind, something is definitely wrong,' Sam shook her head as she edged further along the wall, trying to give Phantom more room to do…whatever it was he needed to do, 'He is a hero though, that's for sure. He deserves more recognition.'

As Sam found herself pondering the young ghost's lack of good PR, Danny found himself wondering just how often Sam could get into trouble and how she had managed to survive in Amity Park before that fateful day of the seafood attack had brought him into her life, 'I knew it, the more a person gets involved with me, the worse they get sucked into the craziness…it's like some weird chaos factor or something!'

Technus began to monologue, much to Danny's relief as he lowered the severely cracked shield and stepped back, pushing Sam faster than she had previously been moving. As soon as he had them far enough away from the tentacles that had been his biggest obstacle, Danny leaned over to whisper to Sam, trying to not alert the ghost that no one was listening to him.

"He's crazy and he likes to talk, so while he's talking, get out of here," he moved slightly to the left to cover Sam more fully from Technus' sight, "I'm sorry you keep getting caught up in my trouble."

Sam didn't respond, just reached out a hesitant hand and laid it against Phantom's cold back. Unfortunately, it was also in the same place she had unknowingly bit the halfa that same afternoon. It hadn't really hurt when she first did it, but after Tucker's unkind prodding and poking all through their afternoon snack and the walk to his house, it had become more and more sore, to the point where it was actually starting to bother him.

"Geeze," Phantom jumped, much to Sam's surprise as she laid her hand on him, causing her to jerk away and Technus to realize what was going on, "Get out of here, he's going to be pissed!"

"Sorry!" she shouted as she took his advice and started to move away, only to find an angry looking ATM machine blocking her path. She quickly dodge the cumbersome contraption and was scooting along nicely, until Phantom went shooting along in front of her, and not of his own volition. He had been backhanded hard enough to send him flying backwards, and Sam brought herself up short as he crashed to the ground in front of her and rolled a few feet.

Sam swore that he had to be unconscious after such a hard hit, but the phantom boy surprised her by popping up on his feet, a grimace making his features look darker than they normally did and a green line marking a bleeding cut on his cheek, 'He's bleeding green…'

"Technus, you seriously need to stay trapped in level zero when I put you there," Phantom took a slightly unsteady step forward, then another and another, and soon he was walking just fine, "You're nothing but a pest."

"If I were a mere pest, child," the nasally sounding machine smoothly slid forward to meet his opponent, "I'd not have knocked you on your rear, ha ha!"

"Shut up," the halfa spit out as they started trading blows, Sam ready to make her get away again as soon as the ATM stopped eyeing her…or whatever it was doing as it didn't have eyes, 'This really sucks.'

Sam lunged to the left and darted around it once again, but a tentacle from Technus shot out and hit the back of her calf, forcing her into a rolling fall which left her a crumpled heap until she managed to figure out which way was up. Her spin left her more disoriented than hurt, or so she thought until she tried to stand, only to find a sharp pain biting through her calf and she sat back down promptly.

"Chill out!" Phantom grabbed the tentacle flailing in front of him and froze it, easily snapping it off the main body after that.

"You really need to work on your banter."

Technus and Sam shot each other a weird look for having echoed one another in their verbalized thought, which had Phantom blushing at both his friend's and enemy's criticism, "Well you guys try to come up with something off the top of your head."

Sam tried to keep from laughing at Phantom's pout, at the same time as trying not to cry from the pain in her leg. Technus shrugged his shoulders, in a very mechanical way of course, and offered up his own wit, "Why not 'freeze'?"

"That's even worse," Sam grimaced as she put a hand to her bruise, feeling the heat already coming from the wound, "I don't think you should even try witty banter when you're fighting. It usually sounds corny."

"I find it an enjoyable pastime," Technus folded his remaining 'arms' over his mainframe of a chest.

"Actually, I kinda' agree with Sam," Phantom had once again moved to stand in front of the girl, realizing that something was wrong and she wasn't able to stand. He had the thermos open and it was charged, ready to pull Technus in, "and I'm getting really tired of this fight."

Technus, unlike the other ghosts that Sam had witnessed Phantom pull into the thermos, screamed like someone was killing him. Sam started to wonder how crazy Technus really was, and how much of him could be listed under 'drama queen'.

"You alright?" Phantom knelt down beside Sam, looking her over to try and see where she was injured, "I didn't even see you get hit. I'm sorry."

"He kinda' snuck the hit in," Sam admitted and shifted to sit more on her side so she could show her forming bruise, "I was trying to run like you said, but he hit the back of my calf. I ended up tumbling and couldn't get up afterwards."

"Your 'witty banter' saved the day," Phantom laughed as he gently placed an ice cold finger to her wound, watching as she winced and pulled away slightly, "Sorry."

"It's just sore, I'm sure I can get up," Sam said as she tried to and stood heavily on her uninjured leg, "Or maybe I can get up and not move…"

"Well, at least I already know where you live," Phantom smiled as he moved to wrap an arm around Sam and lifted them both into the air, being careful of her leg, "We can get there pretty fast, and get you some ice or something."

"My parents are home and that means all the staff are there," Sam shook her head, hanging on tightly as Danny started on his way quickly, hoping that it really was just a bruise and not something worse, "I won't be able to get to any ice, and I can't exactly sneak in like this."

"Did you sneak out?"

He sounded so surprised that Sam almost lied to him and told him no, but decided at the last second to just tell the truth like she always did, "Yeah, I really wanted a strawberry soy milkshake."

"Oh really?" his chuckled question had Sam blushing and turning her head, remembering her earlier conversation with Danny, "Why a milkshake?"

"I just had a craving for one, alright?" she turned away from him as best she could while being held by the boy at least fifty feet in the air, "How in the world am I going to get past my parents…"

"Well, if you snuck out they probably still think you're in your room right?" he waited for her to nod before nodding himself, thinking up a plan as her house came into view, "I can just phase you through your window, but you do need ice…"

"Can you sneak down for me?" Sam winced as her calf gave a twinge, then felt Phantom laugh rather than heard him as he chuckled silently to himself, "Alright, what's so funny? You're lucky I wasn't stubborn for once and insisted on walking."

"It's just, for one thing, I'm sure you don't want a haunted house, because no matter how fast I get your ice, people are still going to get chills and feel like something's watching them and all that stuff," he turned glowing green eyes in Sam's direction and gave her a blinding smile, "For another thing, I'm kind of a personal ice machine."

"What you did the other night?" Sam frowned as she shook her head, "I don't have any water in my room and my bathroom is down the hall."

"Here we are," Sam found herself eyelevel with her window, and suddenly passing through it, the strange pins and needles feeing washing over her for only half a second. Phantom looked around for a second before he decided to set Sam gently on the edge of her bed, then knelt to start unlacing her boot.

"What are you doing?" Sam growled as she folded her arms and pulled her leg back from Phantom's soft hold, trying not to wince as her calf protested the movement.

"Your leg and foot might swell and I don't think you'd like having to pull your foot out then," he pulled her leg back and started once again, ignoring her this time as she tried to free her foot, "It's just in case, and I'm pretty sure you'd be more comfortable without it anyways."

"Do you have a towel or an old shirt or something in here?" he stood and started looking around her room, grabbing up an old throw tossed over her computer chair, "You don't mind if this gets wet, do you?"

"No, but the water…"

"I don't actually need water," the ghost produced a handful of ice cubes, perfectly shaped and laid them on part of the throw, then repeated the process twice more, "I can just make ice. Personal ice machine, at your service."

"Wow," Sam watched as his gloved hands wrapped the ice tight, thinking over the power he had displayed and truly impressed, "So you didn't need the fire hydrant the other day?"

"I did," he nodded seriously, "You wouldn't have figured out its weakness otherwise, and it saved me a lot of energy and effort."

Gloved hand carefully lifted her leg and held the ice filled blanket to the bruise, which was swelling as he had predicted. The cold came not only from the ice he had created, but from his hands as well, the soothing cool washing over Sam's abused leg and making her realize it wasn't just her calf that was aching. She hurt all over from her tumble.

"How'd you even end up with Technus yelling at you anyway?" the boy floated in front of her cross-legged as he held the ice and her leg in one hand, the other supporting his chin and resting on his knee, "I was just flying around and making sure everything is alright when I hear him yelling, and then I find you yelling back at him to stay away. Kinda' weird…"

"Yeah, well," she shifted and moved to take the ice from him, but found a firm refusal as he shook his head and kept hold of the make shift icepack, "Like I said I wanted a milkshake and on my way to the Nasty Burger a wall blew out in front of me. The next thing I knew, that ghost was yelling at me for being a 'puny human in his way' so I figured he wasn't someone I wanted to be around."

"You can say that again," he huffed then laughed as she mimicked him to get the hair out of her face, "Still falling in your face?"

"It's normal, and no, I don't want a clip," Sam rolled her eyes, knowing somehow he would have said something like Danny would have, "You really remind me of one of my friends…I think you might be related somehow."

"I dunno'," he shifted uncomfortably and took the ice away from her leg to look at her bruise. It was far worse than the one on her shoulder; at least twice its size and three times as ugly with a large bump rising in the middle. Phantom reapplied the ice and sat with a nervous look on his face. Sam interpreted this as a bit of a taboo subject so she decided to talk about something else.

"Have you heard about the new city campaign to raise awareness of ghost attacks?" The question was certainly out of the blue, but Danny didn't mind. He was just happy she had thought of something else for them to talk about while he held the ice on her leg.

"Yeah, actually," he smiled. This was a topic he knew a great deal about, "The city approached me about helping them write some sort of guide to friendly and dangerous ghosts. The only problem is all ghosts are dangerous, even if they are friendly, and the city council doesn't quite understand that."

"At least they're trying to open communications with you," Sam frowned thoughtfully, glad that he was finally getting some of the recognition he deserved, "It could lead to a better relationship with the public."

"Hopefully," Phantom laughed, rolling his eyes as he did so, "but it doesn't really matter. They're trying to keep people safe and that's the most important part. I just hope that people take it seriously and they listen to me when I tell them all ghosts are dangerous."

"Do you count yourself?" Sam asked the brazen question before she could stop herself and time seemed to slow as Phantom's eyes pierced her own. His gaze didn't break for a second as he furrowed his brow in thought. Sam suddenly felt very vulnerable and didn't want to hear his answer, but sat patiently, curiously awaiting his response.

"Yes," the boy nodded, serious and yet unsure, as though he were willing her to understand something, "I know you don't really know me that well, but you trust me a lot. I mean, I'm sitting in your bedroom with my hands on your leg, so I assume you trust me."

A quite nod was his answer and he sat a moment more to ponder her question, "The reason I think I'm dangerous…is because I know how strong I am. I've also visited an alternate future where I destroy Amity Park and everything I care for. I even ripped apart the ghost zone, which is where all my enemies, and a few of my friends, live. I've learned how to control ice and eventually I'll learn how to tear holes in the fabric of reality itself, if my older self is anything to judge by."

"So you think you're dangerous, even though you try so hard to protect Amity?"

"Yeah," he nodded sadly, pulling one of his hands away to hold up between them, a glow of bright green quickly forming into a tiny ball resting in his open palm, "This right here is enough to hurt you a little."

The ball grew from the size of a grape to the size of a baseball, "This could seriously burn you."

Again it grew hovering between them and over his hand, creating a wind of it's own as Sam watched in amazement, "This would probably kill you, but it would only hurt me a little."

The energy winked out of existence as quickly as he had produced it and left Phantom staring at his palm while Sam stared at the tired face of a boy, 'The weight of the world on his shoulders and he really is just a kid like me.'

"So you really are a superhero," Sam snapped him out his thoughtful trance, pulling a frown when he laughed lightly at her, "You protect this city and it's people, get hurt trying to save others, and know what you can become, but you chose not to. You've faced your 'evil' side and always do right and good in the name of justice and peace, blah, blah, blah. Sounds like superhero stuff to me."

"I'm still dangerous," he pointed out, feeling a little better as she pointed out the good he did, "I could still do horrible things and I'd be able to get away with it."

"But you don't do those things," Sam argued back, feeling refreshed as the debate started between them, "and besides that, anyone can be dangerous. Put a baseball bat in my hand and I'm pretty sure I could do some damage before someone could bring me down. No one considers me dangerous though, because I have never, and would never do that."

"I guess," the ghost shrugged, not able to think of another point and watched Sam smile smugly at her small victory.

"You know, that's the first intelligent conversation I've had since discussing Bronte with my vice-principal," Sam laughed lightly, eyes wrinkling at the corners as she did so. Phantom finally removed the ice with a satisfied nod and laid it on the floor beside them, the ice disappearing as he did so, then turned thoughtful eyes to the girl before him.

"What about your friend, from school? That guy you hang out with, or those two guys really."

That was another mistake and Danny knew it as soon as it came out of his mouth. It could most likely be attributed to the fact that his pride was smarting at Sam thinking him incapable of 'intelligent' conversation, 'That was really…that kinda' hurt! Except she doesn't know she's actually talking about me, to me, and I really shouldn't have said that…'

"You mean, Danny and Tucker? They're great to talk with, but with them it's easier to just play around and goof off. I didn't mean that we never have good conversations," Sam blushed slightly at being caught talking badly about her friends in an indirect way, "Danny actually can be really smart when he wants to, and Tucker is a whiz when it comes to computers…I really enjoy talking with Danny when I get the chance, but Tuck always teases us…"

She trailed off for a second as another blush rose in her cheeks, seeing a knowing smile steal over Phantom's face when she started talking about Danny, "Besides, how do you know about my friends? I never really told you about them."

'Caught again, Fenton, think fast,' the teen wrinkled his brow, then stood in the air, "I pass through the school sometimes to check in on it. There's a lot of ghosts that like to hang around there, so I see you around sometimes. You're with those two guys a lot now, so I figured you were friends."

Something in the way Phantom was standing, one hand to the back of his neck in a ridiculously familiar gesture that Sam couldn't place at the moment, was screaming at her that he was lying. The averted eyes and blush rising on his nearly colorless cheeks sealed the deal on Sam's thoughts and she gingerly rose to her feet to confront him.

"Are you lying?" Sam looked up at him, arms crossed. She realized as she stood that her leg was bearing weight far better, and managed a hobbled step forward, closer to the ghost, "You are, aren't you?"

"No," the young ghost shook his head and scooted away from her, hands up in a pacifying gesture, "I really do check on the school."

"What else do you do?"

A picture of the few times he had snuck into the girl's locker room flashed through his head before Danny realized she was trying to trap him, "Nothing, just pass through and see if there are any ghosts around. Honestly, that's it."

"You're not, stalking me or anything, are you?" Sam worriedly looked up at him, then glanced around her room. The lipstick was laying on her desk and if she lunged for it, she could grab it. Somehow though, it seemed silly to even think that, even if she had gained a ghostly stalker, 'One more really weird thing to top the weird things about me…just great.'

"I'm not stalking you," he frowned at her, completely earnest in his statement and nervous under her intense stare, "I just want to make sure you're safe."

"Me?" Sam squeaked out as she sank to sit on her bed, eyes still wide and on Phantom.

"I mean, you and…everyone," it went from bad to worse in less than a second, and Danny decided it was just time to jet, "Look, it's late, I think you think I'm some weird stalker ghost, and you need to rest your leg. I'm gonna' run, so later."

Without so much as a pin drop sound, the boy was gone and Sam was left in a state of glorious confusion and worry. She stood and started to carefully test her leg as she walked gingerly around her room, thinking over how strange the ghost boy had been in the past few minutes.

'Is he really stalking me?' the thought brought a slight shiver to Sam, but she wasn't totally afraid. He'd already proved himself trustworthy on many occasions, but somehow Sam just _knew _he was lying about the school for some reason, 'Does he really visit it to check on me? That's kinda' stalker-ish and a little possessive. That's not a good thing.'

A half hour later found Sam laying on her bed with a pillow to her chest after exhausting herself from pacing around her room and working herself into a tizzy. She had already recounted the day to herself and was emphatically, assuredly, most unquestionably _not freaking out_.

But maybe she was…just a little. As far as she could figure, a ghost stalker or peeping tom or whatever Phantom could be would be pretty tricky to catch. He most often found her, though it was during ghost fights that he did so. That pointed to him doing his job, and not being stalker like. She had also sought out his company once, so was it so strange that he did the same?

'No, but that's not what's really bothering me,' Sam pondered as she pulled her covers over her, not bothering with changing her clothes, 'What bothers me is that he was lying about something or not saying something. Like he's keeping some secret.'

"I don't know," Sam threw the pillow across the room in frustration and gave a satisfied grin when it hit the wall with a thud, 'I'll sleep on it and see what happens…and I have to remember to wear pants for the next couple of days…'

Sam was out like a light after that, with thoughts of Phantom and Danny echoing in her dreams. She didn't get much sleep that night, but what shut eye she had, was very peaceful indeed.


	12. Retort

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Um…yay! New chapter.  
Enjoy and let me know about typos…and maybe if you like it or not, lol!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Twelve: Retort  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Oh great!" Phantom shot a disbelieving look to where Sam stood less than a foot away, then took another swing at his opponent, a very unfortunate ghost at that moment as Danny was taking out his sudden wrath on him, "I swear I'm not stalking you!"

"Sure," Sam replied dryly with her arms crossed, an eye on the two fighting ghosts who had invaded the school gym, "You just like to drop by my school, to my class, and show off. I understand completely."

"Please tell me that was sarcasm and you don't really think that," Phantom blasted the ghost away from him a few feet, "I could really use a supporter right now who didn't hate my guts and since you're the only person who stayed around I-ughn."

The other ghost, who unbeknownst to Sam was Johnny 13, laid into Phantom with a sucker punch to the stomach as he rushed him, causing the younger ghost to double over in pain. As soon as he hunched over, Johnny laid a knee into the boy's face, hard enough to snap Phantom's head backwards and leave him stunned on the floor, "Hey babe, I'll take care of the stalker for you and then you can hitch a ride with me if you want."

"Get a life creep," Sam deftly swung a baseball bat up to hold between both her hands, "I get all A's in gym, baseball's no exception, and after the giant cat and that freaky shadow thing, I am not afraid of you."

As soon as the ghost had appeared in the girl's locker room the girls who were slow dressers had come running out in disarray, much to the boys' approval of course, until they realized a ghost was just beneath their feet. It had only been a few second until the ghost appeared through the floor at a steep angle, flying upwards to hit the wall of the gym just above the mats that were attached as precautions. The gym was cleared in a matter of seconds with the exception of Sam who stood beside a set of bats, quizzically looking on.

Phantom had been fast on his tail and laid one hit before being pushed back, and found himself right next to Sam who had been ready to play baseball for that day. The girl had never liked the sport particularly well, but was thankful for their coach's choice of game for the day as it gave her something to defend herself with.

" So you met Shadow?" Johnny laughed as he walked forward, leaning in slightly, and giving Sam a very obvious once over, making her want to cover herself from his prying eyes, "Want to meet him again?"

'Not particularly,' Sam raised on eyebrow as she watched Phantom smoothly roll to his feet, his eyes burning a strange sickly yellow as he silently advanced on the ghost who was standing far too close to her. Her ire rose as he dared to lean in even closer and bared her teeth, "Try me."

A whistle came from Johnny, but it was abruptly cut off as Phantom slammed into his back, phasing them both through Sam, which left her shocked for a moment at the strange, death cold sensation that went through her, and pulled at something in her stomach. Phantom laid into the other ghost for all he was worth before being kicked off by the taller boy.

"Keep Sam out of this, Johnny," Phantom once again rolled to his feet, pulling his face back sharply to keep from eating Johnny's fist, "We wouldn't want Kitty to find out what you've been doing in your spare time would we? It would be so easy to just go find her and tell her."

"Hey, that's low man," Johnny smiled, looking over the halfa's shoulder, "So I'll just leave you and you enjoy yourself with your girl. How's that sound?"

"Sounds way too easy," a thermos was in Phantom's hand as Sam watched on, wondering what the heck they had been talking about, "but whatever you say…"

"No, you jacka-," but it was too late for Johnny 13, who was pulled down the blue spiral and into the thermos. Phantom replaced the lid as quickly as he could, nearly cursing as it slipped in his hand once. Quick reflexes saved him as he caught the thermos and jammed the lid on. A smug grin slipped over his lips as he slipped it back into a sling to hang from his back.

"Going to hang around and keep me out of gym for the day?" Sam stood leaning on the baseball bat, which was several sizes too large for her according to her teachers, "I really don't like baseball, even though I'm pretty good at it."

"That would be kinda' stalker-ish," the young ghost nervously rubbed at the back of his neck, then ran a tired hand over his eyes and through his hair, messing it far more than his fight had, "I really am not stalking you. I'm not haunting you. And you're definitely not some weird obsession, so don't even start thinking that. That would be the last thing I need…a restraining order for haunting, that would be a great thing to have happen."

"What's wrong with you?" Sam took a step back as he took one forward, "You're in a weird mood."

"I know, I'm sorry," he ground out, putting both hands behind his head as he sank to sit in the air, keeping himself eyelevel with Sam, "I didn't sleep at all last night, the whole stalking thing with you, I had a meeting with the mayor and city council this morning which went horribly, and now this stupid fight."

"Phantom, duck!"

The shout was all he needed to hear as he let himself fall to the gym floor, watching as Sam took a mighty swing with the bat she had been leaning on. A horrific screech filled the air, before Sam gasped and was pulled forward, only to be saved by Phantom pulling her back, and away from Shadow who had finally made it to where his master had called.

"Good save," Phantom chuckled as he pulled her further into the air and away from the glowering shadow creature, its red eyes fixed on Sam, "You know, that's twice you've hit him. I think you just made your first enemy…"

"That is not very comforting Phantom," Sam found herself with a handful of bunched jumpsuit as she swallowed hard and forced herself to breath, "I'm going to have nightmares for a month now."

"Nah, he'll forget in a week," the ghost holding her shrugged, then landed and swung around with a shield as Shadow lunged, "He doesn't have a long term memory like we do. He does Johnny 13's dirty work for him, so if Johnny doesn't care, he won't…but, you might get drenched by another fire hydrant in the next week, or have some really bad luck for a while."

"Bad luck ghost, right?" Sam frowned, "Just what I need."

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Phantom held the shield with one hand while building up energy in his other, "It's pretty bright in here, and there's not many shadows so he'll be weak. Should be a piece of cake."

And it was, as Shadow pulled back from attacking the shield and started to flee, only to find itself sucked back into the thermos with Johnny, "It's probably getting cramped in there. Hope they like each other…"

"So bad day so far?" Sam rested the bat against the wall as she tried to stop herself from shaking, the adrenaline rush she had experienced at seeing Shadow lunge at the unsuspecting boy was still running through her. Taking one last deep breath she turned to see Phantom smiling gently at her, looking from where her hands had tangled themselves in the bottom of her gym shirt.

"Yeah, bad day, but not that bad I guess," he once again looked at her hands, "Take a couple of deep breaths and let go of your shirt. You'll calm down faster if you just relax."

"I know," Sam spit, unhappy at seeming so weak, though really Danny was impressed at how calm she always seemed to stay, "I wish I could go change really quick, but I don't want to go down there alone and _you _can _not _come with me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Phantom held up his hands to ward off the small girl, "Besides, you look fine. Red and white suit you pretty well."

"Uh, thanks," Sam blushed slightly at the compliment and she finally managed to stop messing with the edge of her shirt, "It's just not a good feeling to be in clothes you're not comfortable in while some strange psycho guy is leaning over you like that, even if they're a ghost."

'That must be pretty weird, more so for a girl,' Danny nodded in response to Sam's statement, as he had seen how strangely she had been standing, as if protecting herself from Johnny's eyes. It had upset him greatly, and he had reacted in kind. The silence must have lasted too long for the girl's taste however, as she suddenly startled him out of his thoughts.

"What happened with the council?"

"They didn't like it when I told them all ghosts are dangerous, so none should go on their 'friendly list'," the halfa laughed nervously, his smile tight and slightly lopsided, "Especially when I, uh, did a little demonstration of how strong I am, and told them that there were probably ghosts even stronger than me…They're completely fanatical about finding at least one ghost who isn't dangerous, which the most idiotic thing I've ever heard…and I think someone should tell them, because they wouldn't listen to me. "

His eyes were burning a bright green and he ran a frustrated hand straight through his white hair, pushing it up at funny angles. The hand gestures he had made were slight, but for him it was definitely a sign of his dissatisfaction as he usually kept his hands rather still when talking.

"Yeah, I could see how they wouldn't like that," the girl looked around, still seeing no one returning to the gym and figuring it was safe to talk for a moment. She backed herself against the wall and sunk to sit, smiling as Phantom followed suit, "You don't have to worry about the stalker thing. I thought about it last night, and as far as I can tell, I always end up seeing you in some sort of fight. It's not like you go out of your way to find me. I usually find you actually…"

"So now I have another stalker," he traced a finger around the edge of a line on the gym floor, bringing it up to see the tip stained with dirt on the white glove, "Just what I need."

"How many stalkers do you have?"

"Well, there's Paulina Sanchez, who is obsessed with me and totally in love and thinks I'll sweep her off her feet one day," the ghost rolled his eyes, smiling a little as Sam glowered at the mention of the popular girl's name, "She's pretty, but not my type. She just likes me because I saved her once, and has no clue who I really am."

"Any other stalkers that I should know about?" Sam teased, making fun of her own self as she did so, "I need to know so I know who my competition is, obviously."

"Obviously," the boy shook his head, taking it all in stride as he played along, "The second stalker is Paulina's polar opposite. Valerie Gray hates me and blames me for ruining her life, and is in actuality a ghost hunter, and a pretty good one at that. She has an eighth degree black belt, and a suit that Technus, the technology ghost, made for her."

"She's the ghost hunter that flies around?" Sam's eyes narrowed slightly, then shot up in disbelief, "I always thought she was violent and not the nicest person in the world, but I never would have thought she'd do something like that."

"Yeah, well, you get used to it," Phantom shrugged, but inside he was laughing, 'Yes she could be violent, and thank you Sam for not liking her. I don't exactly like her for what she said and did either…'

"I think I hear people coming," Sam stood, brushing off her shorts and offering her hand to the ghost in front of her. Phantom thankfully accepted it and more floated to his feet than let her pull him, as he definitely weighed more than she did. The shiver he felt run from her hand to his had their eyes locked as both blushed. He gently brushed his thumb over the back of her hand, then pulled back as he realized what he had just done.

Sam watched with pink cheeks as Phantom opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to think better of it sunk through the floor with a puzzled look on his face. She was quite puzzled herself as people finally wondered back into the gym, looking carefully around for more ghosts. Seeing Sam gave them more courage, though that day, the girls were allowed to change in the hall restrooms.

Everyone was thankful for that.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Did you hear about the meeting the city had with the ghost kid this morning? Phantom, right? Anyways, it was about publishing a list of 'dangerous' and 'safe' ghosts, and apparently Phantom told them that there were no safe ghosts, that they're all dangerous."

"Well, then wouldn't that mean that he's dangerous? That would be like admitting he's a bad guy."

"Here we go again," Danny sighed heavily as he poked at his food, taking little or no notice of Tucker's sympathetic glance. The rumors were starting again, and Danny was burring himself in himself, ignoring the outside world for a moment. The only thing he took notice of was when Sam sat beside him and slid a soda his way, "What's that for?"

"You've looked really bothered all day," Sam shrugged, setting her things on the floor and flicking her hair out of her face, "Figured you could use a pick me up."

"Thanks," he smiled and popped the lid open, "I'm just tired of hearing about Phantom and his meeting. Everyone is talking about it and trying to figure out whether him saying all ghosts are dangerous means he's a bad guy or he's a good guy."

"What do you think?" Sam slid her spoon into a container of bean soup, as she had brought her lunch that day.

"I think that realizing you're dangerous and actually being dangerous are two different things," Danny frowned as he spoke, trying to answer Sam honestly without giving himself away, "Anyone can be dangerous, but he knows he is and chooses to fight for us instead of against us. He's fine in my book."

"I think the council is nuts," Tucker put in his two cents, proud of how his friend had managed to phrase his thoughts, and curious as to why Sam was staring at the boy so hard, "I mean, they wanted his opinion, and he gave it to them."

"Now they're completely fanatical about finding a ghost who isn't dangerous," Danny leaned over the table, forgetting that Sam was beside him for a second as he relayed the news to one of his two accomplices, "It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I wish someone would tell them, 'cause they definitely wouldn't listen to me. I mean, I'm just Joe Shmoe, right?"

Angry blue eyes, a hand running through his hair making it stick up at odd angles as he sighed heavily and slow, measured hand movements that he didn't usually make. It all added up to show that Danny was unhappy about the current situation, and all brought a very strange thought to Sam and somehow reminded her of a piece of homework she had completely forgotten about.

"Yeah, Joe Shmoe, sure," Tucker laughed, then looked over to Sam who had her mouth hanging open slightly, "Trying to catch flies Sam?"

"Oh!" the girl jerked back in her chair, pushing her food away, then standing so quickly she actually knocked her chair backwards, "I totally forgot I have a paper due next period. I um, need to go and…take care of a few things…the paper and um…"

She was practically throwing her things back into her lunch bag as she rushed to get away from the table, Danny's words burned into her memory, as well as a pair of angry green eyes. Tucker and Danny sat still, completely unsure of what was going on until Danny grabbed Sam's hand, gently holding it in his own.

"Hey, are you alright?" he tugged her hand gently, trying to get her to sit down and calm down, "You're freaking out or something…"

"I'm _not_ freaking out," she refused to sit and tried to free herself so she could leave and think, "I just need to go…_please_."

It was the last 'please' that convinced Danny and he let go, Sam backing away quickly, her eyes locked on Danny. He thought back over the past few moments as Sam and he froze in each other's gaze, then opened his mouth letting a gasp escape. Sam shot away as Danny shook his head, realizing exactly what was going on.

"Shit."

The word left his mouth and grabbed Tucker's attention faster than anything else would have. Danny rarely cussed, and when he did he was either really unhappy, or something was really bad, "What?"

The flat question was laced with worry and apprehension, as Tucker knew something had just happened between his two friends. He didn't like having to repeat himself, but given that Danny was in some strange state of shock, he allowed it to happen as he reached over and hit Danny's shoulder, "What?"

"She…I think I just seriously messed up and blew my cover," Danny shakily reached over and picked up Sam's chair from where it had fallen, setting it back upright, "I think I told you the exact same thing I said about the council as I said to her this morning in her gym class after I fought Johnny 13. I'm screwed…"

"Maybe not," Tucker tried to keep the halfa from panicking, as he could already see his friend's fingers starting to fade, "Maybe she really did forget a paper…who does she have next period?"

"Mr. Fleming," Danny shook his head, not believing that it was something as simple as a forgotten paper that had Sam, "I think, why?"

Tucker took a second to look around, before he reached over the back of his chair to catch a the sleeve of a girl in his computer class, "Hey Terra?"

"Huh?" the girl turned slightly, "What?"

"You have Fleming next period with Sam Manson right?" Tucker asked, smiling at the nod he received, "She just totally freaked out about some paper due…"

"Oh yeah, we have a one page paper on genetics," the girl laughed, "he assigned it a couple of days ago, and I remember her saying something about how she was sure she'd forget it. We each were assigned things like eye color and hair color. We actually both got blue eyes to write our paper on."

"Oh," Danny let out a heavy breath, very happy suddenly, though a slight amount of doubt still lingered in his mind, "Oh…"

"Anyways, why?" Terra scrutinized Tucker for a moment.

"Just curious," Tucker shrugged and turned back around, effectively ending the conversation, though he got the feeling that Terra didn't really mind, "See? No worries, Sam wasn't freaking about you, she was worried about her paper. Looking deep into your blue eyes probably reminded her…"

"Shut up Tuck," Danny laughed, blushed, and threw one of his fries, still slightly unsure, but decided he'd just play it off if anything happened. He wasn't sure how, but he was keeping himself from being too distressed. Now if he could just keep it that way, he'd have it made…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Alright, let's just think about this logically,' Sam found herself out in front of the library after whipping up a really horrible paper on genetics in under five minutes, not caring that she was going to fail the assignment, 'This is completely impossible, but there are so many similarities. Obviously there are differences too, but…'

Looking around, Sam found a quiet, empty classroom and sat herself down, trying to puzzle out what was bothering her so greatly, 'They can't be so much alike, they just can't!'

She slammed her pen on the desk she had chosen, and reached into her bag for the first piece of paper that came to her hand. Biting her lip, she gently uncapped the pen and pulled it down across the paper, separating it into two columns. She didn't bother heading either, and instead started one column with 'dead', the other with 'alive'.

"Okay, that's the most obvious difference, then comes eye color," she quickly wrote down green and blue, "and hair color," white versus black, "but what else…"

Sam began to chew on the back of the pen, thinking over their body types, their voices, their actions, and their personalities, "Sam body type, with wiry muscles and thin and tall, their voices sound exactly alike with the exception of that weird echo thing ghosts have, and they move the same…example being the pointing…and the hand on the neck thing…"

That thought had just taken hold in Sam's mind, as she suddenly realized why it always bothered her when Phantom did that. It had seemed familiar because it was the typical nervous gesture of Danny, the same with running his hand through his hair, 'This is getting ridiculous, how can two people be so much alike when one is past and the other is in high school with me?'

"Their hair is the same too," Sam frowned, confusion running rampant through her thoughts and forcing her to continue to figure out the riddle of Phantom and Fenton, "They act alike, and say the same things sometimes, especially when one or the other says something about a hair clip. Stupid boys."

Sam simply rolled her eyes, thinking over the thousands of little things that had been so obvious but she had somehow missed. She thought hard, both boy's faces appearing in her mind, with the only remarkable difference between the two being their coloring. Dark hair, sapphire eyes, and tanned skin. White hair, jade eyes, and ghostly pale.

"How?" the word slipped out of Sam's lips as the pen slipped from her hand, understanding what she had discovered, but completely unsure of the who and how. Who was Phantom really, and for that matter if Danny was tied up in it, who was he? How was this possible?

The bell for the end of lunch rang and Sam hurriedly packed up her things. The rest of the day passed in a blur of voices, faces, and a wandering mind, with no real thought given to school or notes or the people around her. The only thought on her mind was Danny, or was it Phantom. Who was the real person and how did he manage it?

As the last bell rang Sam prepared herself, still not completely convinced that she had enough proof to give her crazy theory credence. Seeing Danny's laughing eyes as he stood by his locker talking to Tucker almost made her laugh at her own ridiculousness. She was insane, certifiably, if she thought that Danny Fenton was somehow the ghostly Phantom.

So they looked alike? Perhaps her theory of them being long lost relatives held some credibility. Families could pass on traits such as nervous ticks, gesticulations, and turns of phrase. She knew for a fact that she had learned to put her hand on her hip the specific way she did from her mother, however loathe she was to admit that out loud.

"Get that paper done?" Tucker spotted her first and pulled Danny along with him to meet her at her locker, "You kinda' rushed out of lunch, and we were worried."

"I got it done," Sam pulled away from the boys slightly, moving slightly closer to Tucker to play it safe for a moment and to be able to watch Danny more easily. He seemed a little out of it, perhaps worried, or distracted by something that Sam could only guess at, even if it was an educated guess, "It wasn't the best thing I've ever written, but I turned it in."

"That's good," Tucker smiled, then pulled out his ringing cell phone as Sam opened her locker, "Hello?"

The boy moved away so as to better hear who was on the other end of the line, which left Sam standing awkwardly next to Danny who had his hand to his neck. The resemblance now was uncanny and left Sam staring once again.

"What?" Danny chuckled good naturedly, looking away slightly, "Did Tucker write something on my face after I fell asleep in class or something?"

"No, it's nothing," Sam moved to close her locker without really paying attention and caught her finger, giving a startled yell as she jerked her hand away, her locker swinging wide and nearly catching Danny had his hand not shot out to close it for her, "Shoot! God, ow…"

"You alright?" Danny reached over to take a book from her hand as Sam shook her finger, then stuck it in her mouth, "Didn't break anything did you?"

"Mo, I jush pinshed it," the girl got out around her finger, then pulled it out with a wince, imagining she could see it throbbing, "Guess that's what I get for not paying attention…"

"My fault," Danny caught her hand and looked the finger over, "I'm sorry."

It was just like in the gym as Sam's breath hitched and the pair locked eyes, ice blue on violet this time. Another shiver ran through her hand, and Danny realized exactly what he was doing. He wasn't sure if he cared though, as he enjoyed the moment, 'I'm going to regret this later, but…'

The blush on her cheeks was strangely alluring, and his thumb gently ran over the smooth skin of her hand, unconsciously mimicking the action from early, which he had wanted to repeat if only to feel the shiver pass between them again. Sam was frozen, completely floored by what was happening.

"Finger still hurt?" Danny grinned as charmingly as he could manage, pulling back from Sam and gently handing her book back to her. He looked between her and the floor, then cleared his throat to smile again and break Sam out of whatever little world she was in, 'Great, I've either broken her brain, confused her beyond all reason, or totally just given myself away.'

"N-nope," Sam shook her head vigorously, trying to cool the blush on her cheeks even as she enjoyed the blush spread over the boy's face in front of her, "Doesn't hurt anymore."

"Great," Danny smiled a little too brightly, then turned away, 'What is wrong with me? Do I want her to know? Is that why I keep doing all those stupid little things, or am I just stupid? Will you figure it out now that I've been so obvious, Sam?'

"Right," Sam nodded, only too relieved to see Tucker sneaking up on Danny with a horrid grin on his face.

"Aw, so blushy and sweet," the boy threw himself on his friend, trying to stay on his back for as long as he could, but quickly found himself thrown off, much to Sam's amusement, "So, making your move? Great, I'll just leave you two alone, have fun at the Nasty Burger, all that jazz."

"Actually," Danny looked paler than he had before as he watched Sam watching him with knowing eyes, a triumphant light to her features as she opened her mouth, only to be cut off by Danny, "I have to go. I'll see you guys later."

And he pushed himself back and into the rush of the hallway, getting out of the building as quickly as he could before he could do anything else to ruin his secret. Sam and Tucker stood confused, but the boy quickly shook it off. Whatever was going on, he'd figure it out sooner or later.

Sam watched Danny go, her own fingers tracing over where a thumb, gloved once and ungloved twice, had touched her, and felt her confidence soar. She knew, now more assuredly than before, that something between Danny and Phantom was connected…now she just needed to prove it once and for all.


	13. Dialogue

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Apparently some of you say your prayers, because** _here's another four chapters_** for you! The guy who was supposed to fix my computer wasn't there. His son was having an emergency operation, and so I have to try again tomorrow...let's hope I get this fixed soon, as it's starting to impare my typing as I can't see!

Anywho…Sam's a smart girl, but was it really right?  
Enjoy!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Thirteen: Dialogue  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Alright, I don't want to freak him out if I'm totally wrong and crazy,' Sam determinedly strode forward into school that morning, far earlier than she normally did, hoping to catch Danny at his locker as he usually showed up before she did and met her at her own, 'I'll get him to talking and see if I can't get something out of him…kinda' sneaky, but there's not another way to do it.'

There was Danny just as she had hoped, barely opening his locker and letting a wide, noisy yawn slip. He barely looked coherent and Sam let a chuckle announce her own presence, "You look tired."

"I, uh, didn't sleep very well last night," he admitted, knowing that the less lies he told, the better it could end for him. Hopefully he would keep his foot out of his mouth long enough to figure out what to do about Sam, "You don't look so good yourself."

"Didn't sleep well," Sam echoed, grinning slightly as the teen beside her closed his locker slowly and turned to lean on it with a tiny grin of his own. The girl turned to lean on the lockers as well, then slyly brought out her notebook to start a doodle of Technus, calling up all she could remember about him, "Doesn't this guy just rub you the wrong way."

Danny snorted and opened his mouth to answer, before shooting a strange look at Sam and snapping his mouth shut with an audible click. He had to think for a moment to find an appropriate answer that wouldn't arouse her suspicions more than he suspected it already was, "I've seen him around a few times, but I don't like him. He managed to screw up my computer one time."

"I don't like his voice," Sam responded with a nod, hoping that Danny was playing it safe by playing dumb, "It's really nasally, kinda' like Mr. Crinks."

"Reminds me more of Mr. Sellers," Danny shrugged, then looked around, desperate to find Tucker, 'Why isn't he here yet? Man, hurry up and save my butt here…'

"Oh?" inside Sam was doing a small victory dance. It wasn't the best evidence but it was something, and Danny was definitely starting to get nervous as she watched him shift slightly, "Him and the Cardboard Ghost are the most annoying I think."

"Box Ghost," Danny corrected automatically, still looking for Tucker, "He's the Box Ghost."

"How'd you know that?" Sam turned sideways to view Danny's profile, which was currently pale. It was interesting to see him swallow, as his Adam's apple bobbed up then down and back up again. Danny just shrugged then pushed himself off the lockers, Sam shooting him an odd look.

"Gotta' pee," the boy shrugged as he walked backwards for a second, only to spin and head straight for the restroom, "Be back in a few."

The few minutes that he had promised turned into the rest of the morning wait, with Tucker bothering her about where Danny went. It was odd when she told him he'd disappeared to the bathroom and hadn't returned. Tucker had just nodded with a neutral face, as though such things happened all the time.

When the bell rang and he still hadn't shown, Sam gave up and rolled her eyes, upset with herself that she hadn't been subtle enough and managed to drive him off, 'Lunch will be different. Tuck will be there…I wonder if he knows what's going on? Maybe I should start focusing on him instead.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey Sam," Danny had decided that running hadn't been in his best interest this morning, nor would it be good to give a repeat performance. If Sam was suspicious, he didn't need to be adding fuel to the fire by sneaking off or disappearing, "Bring your lunch again? You must really be sick of salads."

"I'm sick of there not being anything vegetarian friendly with the exception of vegetables and day old salad," she rolled her eyes as she sank to sit beside Danny, almost immediately focusing her attention on Tucker, "Hey Tuck, I've got a question for you."

"Shoot," the boy replied around a mouthful of hamburger, trying his best to not give Danny and Sam a show of what was currently in his mouth. A napkin found its way to him, courtesy of the only girl in their little group, which was Tucker's hint to use it. Danny just laughed until Sam elbowed him in the side, smiling sweetly at both boys the entire time.

"Well, I was just wondering if you've ever been in any other ghost related incidents besides the Ember concert," Sam leaned over the table slightly, a little concerned when Tucker nearly inhaled his drink, "You know, any other ghosts you've been around or seen Phantom fight besides that one."

"I thought the Ember concert was never to be spoken of again?" an angry look was sent Danny's way, but the boy just turned his head, pretending not to have heard until Tucker nailed the back of his head with his plastic spoon.

"Hey, I agreed, Sam didn't," Danny was quick to point to the girl at his side, hoping that some of the wrath would be redirected, "It wasn't like I made you get up there and sing."

"Yeah, but you…"

"He what?" Sam watched a certain exchange between the pair, trying to decipher if it was an issue of embarrassment, or one of secretiveness.

"He, um, didn't discourage me?"

"Uh huh," Sam rolled her eyes, letting the boys change the subject in which ever way they wanted, not wanting to push it more than she had that day.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"So you going to the Nasty Burger?" Danny caught up with Sam, still cautious, but not so worried now that he'd had all day to shake off his fears. Sam couldn't have possibly figured it out when every person in his life was blind, with the exception of the boy who saw it happen, and his sister who accidentally saw him change.

"I don't know," Sam pulled her backpack over just one shoulder, hanging onto the strap with both hands, "I'm actually still in shock from the fact that you've managed to not get detention this entire week."

"Well, maybe it's not that I don't have detention, maybe it's just that I'm skipping it," the halfa smiled, glad that Sam was staying on friendly ground, "You know, being my normal bad boy self."

"Because you're such a rebel," the girl laughed and walked ahead of him a bit, again forcing him to catch up to her. Sam could just picture Danny in a black shirt, joining some protest and skipping school, though that thought had even more laughter bubbling out of her, "Danny Fenton, self proclaimed bad boy, exactly what this world needs."

"Hey, it could happen," the boy glanced around trying to figure out what 'bad boys' would do, "I could, um, rob a bank or a jewelry store. And then I could…get a motorcycle and do crazy…stuff."

"Lame," Sam replied, then looked around as they neared the exit of the school, "Where's Tucker? Doing something with the computer lab computers again?"

"Probably," came the answer, but silence followed hard on its heels until they reached the doors, "After you."

"Thank you, even though I am an inde-"

"Independent woman of the modern age who is perfectly capable of opening her own doors and looking out for herself. I know that one already," Danny laughed as he held open the door for her, preparing himself for a punch to the arm for interrupting the slight girl, though it never came and Danny had to hurry after her for a third time so he wouldn't loose track of her, "What gives? You keep leaving me."

"Maybe you're not fast enough to keep up?" Sam teased, sensing that Danny was completely at ease, and ready to spring another of her traps.

"Hey, I'm fast enough."

"So what's the fastest you've flown?"

"One fifty eight," the response was immediate to the rapid fire question Sam had laid out. Unfortunately, Danny's head caught up with what was said and a disclaimer was on his lips before Sam could blink, "but that was just in a little plane. I don't think I've flown commercially before…"

"Right," Sam had stopped walking to stare at Danny who looked like he was sweating bullets and had his hands shoved in his pockets, "Danny?"

"Why'd you ask what the fastest I've flown was?" the boy was quick to ignore her question and change the subject, this time moving off and forcing Sam to keep up with him, "I mean, why didn't you ask about my running time? It's not the best, but it isn't that bad."

"Danny," Sam grabbed his arm and tugged him to a stop, though it was much harder than she thought it was going to be and she had to dig her boots into the sidewalk to accomplish it, "Would you just listen, I need to ask you…"

"No more question, okay?"

His voice was so desperate, so measured and quiet, that Sam took a moment to think as she looked him over. His fists were clenched, as was his jaw, and Danny looked remarkably pale, as though fighting internally about something.

'Tell her, and she might be okay and not freak,' the thoughts were whirling through him, too fast to really grasp, but slow enough to get the intention behind each, 'Tell her, and she might freak out. Don't tell her, and if she already knows she thinks you're a liar and a stalker. Don't tell her, she finds out, she thinks you're too weird. Don't tell her, she never finds out, and you live a double lie. The odds don't favor telling her…'

"Okay," Sam still had hold of his arm and swallowed dryly as she felt his corded muscles relax, the strength draining out of him as he breathed out deeply. She didn't know what exactly was effecting him so greatly, but it was becoming more and more obvious that she was correct in her assumption.

Danny Fenton had everything to do with Phantom, and vice versa. Perhaps, a little voice was whispering in her mind's ear, at every odd thing Danny did, every time he changed the subject, and every little gesture that gave him away, perhaps he and Phantom were one in the same. Possession, perhaps, or maybe a spirit that had found a way to walk among the living.

Whatever it was, Sam decided it was best to drop it for the moment, and give Danny his peace. If he really was Phantom, it was obvious that he got very little of it.

The arm under her hand turned up a bit, until her hand was resting in the crook of his arm, comfortably tucked in by his elbow, "Let's go to the park and buy some ice cream. I'm tired of going to the Nasty Burger all the time."

"Alright," Sam glanced around as a couple of girls caught sight of Danny escorting her and giggled, "but let's do it a little less flamboyantly."

"Nah, what's the fun in that?" the wicked boy winked at her and continued walking, taking far too much pleasure in Sam's blush in her own opinion, "See? Even if I'm really bad at it, I can be a bad boy sometimes."

"Bad boy?" Sam echoed, realizing she was being teased and enjoying it, "You could never be a real bad boy, Danny, you're too Apple Pie and Forth of July. Way too all American teenager to ever pull it off."

"Ah, you never know," he shrugged, then pulled her towards the park, talking about ice cream and what he was going to get the whole way. Sam belatedly realized that Danny enjoyed strawberry flavor in whatever form he could get it, be it candy, milkshakes, or ice cream. For some reason she made a mental note to remember that and then began to tune him out.

'Wait, if he's a ghost, does that mean I'm starting to like a dead guy?' Sam frowned as Danny kept talking about something funny that happened when he was little, having to do with ice cream and an ectoplasm powered freezer, 'I am starting to like him, and Phantom is pretty nice too, but that's a problem if they're two different people. If they're the same guy that's great, but if not…or if he's possessed…or if they're the same guy and just dead…I'm going to have a brain freeze before I even get near ice cream if I keep this up.'

"Sam, you in there?" a hand waved in front of her, dragging her out of her thoughts, and for a second she wondered why it wasn't gloved, then shook her head, "Earth to Sam."

"I'm here," she quickly pushed away his hand, frowning playfully as she did so, "It's a good thing you didn't do that stupid 'knock to see if anybody's home' thing. I would have kicked you. In the shin."

"Ouch," the boy turned and walked away, as if not really believing her threat, "What ice cream do you want? My treat."

"I can buy my own," the girl crossed her arms and tapped her foot, only to give up in disgust when Danny imitated her, mocking her for all he was worth. The guy in the ice cream booth laughed at their display, making Sam throw up her arms, "Fine, strawberry, whatever."

"Two strawberry cones please," Danny grinned, exchanging knowing looks with the other man as they exchanged money for goods, "Thank you."

"I'm sorry for mocking you and I'm sorry for not wanting to answer questions earlier," Danny carefully approached Sam as though approaching a wild animal, handing her the ice cream before daring to join her on the bench she had claimed, "I had a nasty test today in chemistry and I still have the headache from it. Questions have fried my brain for today."

"You're forgiven," Sam bit the top of her ice cream off, enjoying the coolness of it in the heat of the afternoon, "but don't think every time you get in trouble you can just buy an ice cream and get yourself out of it."

"Alright," Danny nodded, and Sam thought that was the end of it, until he leaned in close to her and smirked, "Next time I'll buy you a strawberry soy milkshake like I promised you a week ago."

"Deal," Sam took another bite as Danny did, both soaking up the sun and wondering just what was going to happen next, "But that's it, you only get two chances to make up for something like being grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy," Danny folded his arms, then quickly undid his action to lick his melting ice cream, "I'm just…not well rested. If I got more sleep, I'd be nicer."

"You're pretty darn nice already, Danny," Sam shot him a look, stating her feelings clearly, "I don't think it's possible that sleep will make you nicer."

"Thanks," he heaved a sigh and took a chunk out of his cone with a thoughtful look on his face, "I needed that."

It took a few moments for Sam to get her ice cream 'melt-age' under control to where she could manage a quick, "What?"

"Validation," he replied as he finished his cone, licking one sticky finger before crossing his arms and leaning his head back, "Wake me up when you're done."

"Sure thing," Sam looked over the resting boy, wondering just how he could sleep in so uncomfortable a spot. She spent the next thirty minutes letting him sleep, only two of which actually consisted of ice cream eating. They parted ways soon after that, though both of them wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon in the park.

.o.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Heads up!" Tucker's voice caught Sam off guard as she looked over her left shoulder to see a Frisbee flying her way, quickly followed by a running Danny, "Catch it Sam!"

"What?" was all she managed to get out before the Frisbee stopped an inch or so from her nose, all thanks to a gasping Danny who had managed to snag it before it popped her in the face.

'How did he do that?' The girl's mind was screaming at her at the impossible catch and stop, desperately racing for an explanation other than 'ghostly powers' but failing miserably.

"Some reflexes…you got," Danny huffed out as he sat down on the ground, the extra burst of speed he had put on to catch it wearing him out more than it should have, "Maybe you should practice catching."

"I can catch fine, thanks, I was just surprised that Tucker could throw," she let her arms cross over her chest as she frowned down at the overly exhausted Danny, who was giggling silently at her retort, "You can't really be that out of shape."

"You'd be surprised," Tucker laughed as he walked over to where Danny still sat on the ground, looking up at Sam with a grin plastered on his sweaty face, "We're actually trying to get him in shape…not that it's working. Besides, I think he's faking so he can look up your skirt."

"I am not!" the boy shot up, blushing from the roots of his hair down, his chest still heaving slightly, "I wouldn't do that, Tucker, because I'm not desperate like you are."

"I'm not desperate," the techo-whiz shot back, "I'm just…bidding my time until the right girl comes along."

"You mean any girl that will actually say yes to one of your corny lines," Sam ended the argument quickly, then changed the subject to avoid Tucker's wrath, "What are you two really doing in the park? Aren't you two usually at the arcade or playing video games at home or something?"

"We sometimes do that, yes," Tucker assumed an all-knowing air about him, looking over his glasses as he talked to Sam, "but sometimes, we decide that fresh air is a wonderful thing. Sometimes we want to return to nature."

"To play Frisbee?"

Sam didn't sound convinced and Danny sat back down, rolling his eyes as he ran a finger around the edge of the Frisbee as Tucker answered her. He'd been thinking since he'd left the park yesterday about what Sam had been doing the entire day on Friday. It was clear that she knew something, the only real question was, what did she know? Did she know that Danny Fenton was somehow related to Phantom, or maybe she knew that Paulina often observed that where one was, the other soon followed?

'Do I even want another person to know?' The thought had tortured him for hours last night before he fell into a fitful sleep, only to be awakened by a pillow in his face, thanks to a loving sister telling him to get up because Tucker was there to see him.

"So, should we start another game with all of us?" Tucker's excited voice brought Danny slowly out of his thoughts. He blinked his eyes open again, adjusting to the sunlight before he noticed that both Tucker and Sam had followed his lead and sank to sit in the soft grass, "Could be fun…"

"Could be," Sam was frowning as though thinking something over, not really paying attention to Tucker all of a sudden, "Danny, how'd you manage to catch that Frisbee without barreling into me? I mean, you were running full out after that thing, and you managed to stop…"

"Heh, luck?" he leaned back on his elbows and turned his face to Tucker, mouthing 'Help me out here,' to his best friend, "I guess I wasn't really running that fast."

"No, he was running," Tucker winked at Sam, knowing that he was probably going to get himself killed for this, but Danny would be thanking him later for so fantastically diverting Sam, "but he probably couldn't bare the thought of knocking over an angel, so God helped him out and stopped him. Wouldn't want such a pretty girl to get hurt…"

"Tucker," Danny growled out and rounded on his friend, 'That wasn't the help I was thinking of…'

Sam simply blushed and looked away, extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden as Danny sounded upset. She did not want a fight between her two best friends, especially not over something as stupid as her, "Tuck, I really don't think that was…appropriate?"

"Aw, I was just playing around Sam," Tucker pouted, making Danny uproot a handful of grass to throw at him and Sam laugh in relief, "I guess I'm just too much of a lady's man to be taken any way but serious."

"That or too much of a flirt most of the time," Danny managed to make it sound friendly, but he felt strangely threatened, 'Does she like it when Tucker compliments her like that?'

"So, what are you doing in the park on Saturday anyways?" Danny let out a breath as he fell backwards to cloud gaze, "You're not a health freak out exercising, are you?"

"What if I am?" Sam's voice sounded slightly irritated, but more playful than anything as Danny watched the blue sky and white clouds, "Are you making fun of me?"

"Probably," Tucker cut in, laughing at how the two were acting, especially with him interfering, "but he wouldn't mind, I promise."

"Shut it, Tuck," the double statement had the boy laughing so hard he fell over and joined his friend in cloud gazing. Sam and Danny just shot one another a look and blushed before Sam gave up on her embarrassment and lay down with her friends.

"I really was just taking a shortcut," Sam answered Danny's earlier question, puffing out air to knock the hair off her forehead, "I'm supposed to be shopping for a dress like my mother would like, but I'm skipping out for a few minutes. I'll go to the store I like after while and pick up the dress I've been eyeing for weeks that my mother loathes."

"I'm sure it's nice then," Danny smirked with his eyes half closed, enjoying the sounds of his friends being right next to him and not in school or any dangerous situation, "Probably black, huh?"

"Black, red, and purple," Sam answered, then sat up and brushed off her skirt, "Well, I have to go."

"No Frisbee then, huh?" Tucker pouted, not bothering to move even though he heard Danny sit up when Sam did.

"No, but I'll play next time you two do. Just give me a call, you both already have my cell number."

"Will do," Danny mock saluted as Sam stood and brushed the grass off her skirt, still thinking over the earlier catch and stop that seemed physically impossible. The boys played in the park for the rest of the afternoon, stopping to wave as Sam passed back by, in a hurry to get home and think.

'If I can't get Danny to talk, maybe it's time to try something else,' Sam thought long and hard before deciding to be a little more direct in her approach, 'Phantom always talks about patrolling, so maybe I can find him tonight. I'll have to start early though, and hope my parents don't notice I'm gone…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Sam!" Pam Manson's voice stopped Sam dead in her tracks as she quietly turned to make it back to her room, her mother's footsteps falling softly on the stairs up to her hallway. She had just made it back in her room and sat at her desk when her door opened, "Sam, did you get a dress today like I asked, sweetie?"

"Yeah Mom," Sam replied, nodding towards a brown plastic bag hanging on her closet door, then frowned, "I really have a headache though, do you mind if I skip dinner tonight?"

"Well, I suppose it's alright," the woman gracefully brought a hand to her hair, pushing her own random strands of hair from her face, much like her daughter could so often be seen doing, "I'm glad you found a dress you like though. I'm sure you look splendid in it. Shall I have James bring you up something to take for your headache?"

"It's fine, I already took something," Sam smiled tightly at her mother. The woman did try, and they loved one another very much. Sometimes though, Sam felt like she was being suffocated, "I think I'm just going to go to bed, so maybe everyone could leave me alone?"

"Of course, dear," Pam hurried over and lovingly kissed her daughter's forehead, "Feel better."

"Thanks Mom," Sam felt slightly bad for lying, but figured the woman would eventually force a pink dress on her and the world would balance itself out through karma, "Night."

"Night dearest," and the woman was out the door and down the hall, with Sam sneaking stealthily along behind her. As soon as Pam made it to the living room, Sam broke off and headed for the backdoor, easily avoiding the wait staff, her father, and even her grandmother. It was a miracle in and of itself.

"Alright, now if I want to find Phantom, I either have to find him personally, or," Sam looked out over the city, trying to remember the most frequently ghost visited sites of town, "or I find a ghost who's causing trouble and hope that Phantom shows up in time to save my butt…for the nth time."

'Right,' Sam took a deep breath, then started walking, figuring the streets around Fenton Works would be the best place to start, as most ghosts seemed to originate from that area according to the newspapers, 'Piece of cake…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"This is Amity Park," Sam kicked another empty can, listening to the noise it made as it clanked and clacked down the street, "Home of thousands of ghosts. How can there not be any ghosts out tonight?"

"Oh there's ghosts out," a strange voice made itself known behind Sam, causing the hair on her arms and the back of her neck to rise, "We just didn't know that our presence was sought by anyone. Do you have a wish to make little girl?"

A blue tail wound its way around Sam's thighs and sent a chill through her body, not at all a pleasant sensation as Sam struggled to free herself, "A wish?"

"Anything you want, anything you think you can't have," the ghost purred out, her bangles adorning her wrists making wickedly hypnotizing sounds, "it can be yours. All you have to do is wish for it."

"I wish for you to let go of Sam, right now, and never even think of harming her again," Phantom's voice was as hard as iron as he rose into view from the ground, glaring for all he was worth at the ghost in front of him, "And I wish you'd just get into this thermos without a fight Desiree!"

"Uh uh," Desiree waved one finger while letting Sam out of her grasp, keeping the two separated by positioning herself in front of Phantom, "One wish per customer today. I let her go and I will not harm her, but I will not grant your second wish."

"I have a wish," Sam timidly cleared her throat to gain the attention of the two posturing ghosts, one of which smiled wickedly, the other wide eyed and shaking his head no frantically, "I wish you would just get into that thermos like Phantom asked without a fight, Desiree."

"What?" she whirled on the girl, but the blue vortex was already forming to pull the unresisting ghost in, "I can't believe it."

"I can," Sam folded her arms and glared hatefully at the thermos that Phantom was closing, "I hate it when they do that."

"Do what?" Phantom was awfully distant, and Sam noticed it immediately. Perhaps he was trying to make up for getting too close before and letting part of his secret slip.

"When they touch me like that," Sam frowned, her arms coming up over herself, "Shadow grabbed my arms the other day, and now this one, Desiree, wrapped her…tail around my thighs. It felt cold and like it was sucking the life out of me."

The young ghost before her suddenly looked like he'd been punched in the stomach, his already pale complexion becoming even paler, "Does it feel like that when I've touched you?"

"No," Sam shook her head, wondering at how upset and worried he seemed over it, "No, you usually just feel cold. Anytime you've ever made me, um, insubstantial?"

"Intangible," the boy corrected with a small smile, nodding for her to continue.

"Intangible, well, that just felt like pins and needles, more like when your leg falls asleep," she shrugged, then rubbed her arms as she remembered the cold as death feeling of just a moment ago, "It doesn't bother me when you do it, but other ghosts…it feels bad somehow, evil or something silly like that."

"What are you doing out so late again anyways?" Phantom suddenly crossed his arms, relieved that she didn't feel badly when he touched her, but upset that she was in trouble yet again, "You should just stay home and out of trouble."

"I was just out," she shrugged, then turned to him, "How about you?"

"I kinda' live around here, and I know when other ghosts are around," the halfa glanced between the thermos and her, "It's late, so go home. I'm going home too, and I'm not going to save your butt from anymore ghosts tonight."

"Alright," Sam turned to walk off as the boy hovered a few feet above the ground, "Night."

"Night," and he turned to leave, feeling as though the night hadn't ended quite yet and something had yet to happen.

"Hey Danny?"

"What Sam?"

As soon as he had turned, as soon as the words were out of his mouth and he acknowledged what she had said, he knew all was lost. She knew, and the grin full of wonderment that was spread across her face clearly said so.

"I'm not…I mean, why?" and Danny did the only thing he could think of. He disappeared and left, a look of devastated disbelief on his face the last thing Sam saw before she too started on her way.

Maybe it had been the shattered look in his eyes, or the way he had said 'why' but Sam's victory suddenly tasted bittersweet and she drew her arms around herself. She knew for sure, for Phantom had answered when she had called him Danny, sounding too much like Danny to be anyone else.

'I did the right thing, right?' Sam thought long and hard on her way home, feeling as though she was being watched the entire way, "Did I do the right thing?"


	14. Faux Pas

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Ew, teenage angst…it clings to your clothes and makes you feel like getting a stiff drink and maybe taking a shower…though I don't condone drinking unless you're of legal age. ;)

Please enjoy!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Fourteen: Faux Pas  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'_Did_ I do the right thing?' Sam threw herself back onto her bed even though she was supposed to be getting ready to head to school, "Why? Because, Danny, it was driving me nuts. I didn't blow your cover to the entire world or anything like that, so why did you have to look so hurt?"

'I really need to talk to him,' she finally managed to get up, convinced that the day would get better if she would just get going, 'I'll talk to him first thing this morning…if I hurry.'

She was already dressed, so brushing of hair and teeth, as well as any make up application, was done as quickly as humanly possible. Sam was determined to get to school to catch Danny at his locker instead of hoping he'd show up at hers. She was certain that something had changed, but she hoped it hadn't.

'Gotta' go, gotta' go, oh no,' her mother was in front of her with a perfectly pressed little shirt of light yellow and blue, "Oh Mom, not today. I had a fight with a friend and it's dreadfully important that I get to school as quickly as possible, to make…amends."

The smile that she let show to her mother had the other woman smiling happily, though Sam felt completely out of her comfort zone. She shot past the woman and on the kitchen where her grandmother was holding a small bag of breakfast, "You're the best Grandma."

"I know," the woman smiled through her wrinkles and leaned into the kiss Sam planted on her cheek, "Now get going, you don't want to keep your young man waiting."

"How…"

"It's a grandmother thing," the woman patted her granddaughter's hand, then sent her on her way with a push on her rear, "Now get."

"I'm going, Grandma, I'm going," Sam was out the door, already digging into her bag to start her breakfast as she walked, hoping that she was early enough to catch Danny and talk things out with him. She had upset him, that much was clear, but her heart and head were both telling her things could be worked out.

'I won't let this ruin one of my only friendships,' Sam viciously bit into her toast, thanking her grandmother silently again as she chewed and walked, edging around the fire hydrant that had drenched her a few weeks ago. She was still a bit paranoid.

'I need to tell him that I'm sorry for breaking his trust, but that I haven't told anyone. If I had a secret that big, with practically the whole town against me, I wouldn't want anyone to know either,' she was getting closer and happy at the time she had made that morning, 'I guess I could tell him that I understand he doesn't have to tell me everything and I'm not freaked out by…whatever the truth may be.'

'Maybe that's why he's always so tired,' the school was now in sight and Sam started to think over what pulling a double life could entail, 'If he's out fighting at night, he'd never have time to sleep, never have time to finish homework, never get the chance to work on relationships…'

'Wow, if Valerie Gray was going out with Danny before, no wonder things weren't working out between them,' she was at the steps of the school now, ready to open the doors and praying that she had managed to make it on time, 'No wonder they had such a hard time, she was dating Danny and trying to kill Phantom…he did say something about having different goals. Heck, trying to stay alive and trying to kill your significant other are definitely different goals.'

"I just hope he'll listen," Sam took a breath and pushed open the doors, spotting Danny at his locker instantly, taking in his lowered head as he just leaned against the locker, not even bothering to open it, 'And I hope he knows I'll listen too…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'No, not already,' the halfa had spotted her as soon as she had entered the building, the doors clicking to a shut as she stood just in front them, looking down the hall at him, 'I can't do this yet, especially not at school.'

She was walking towards him, a determined look on her face, and already he was backing away, ready to turn and run if she got too close, but something was causing him to hesitate, 'Maybe we should talk…maybe it is better…maybe…no, even if we could talk, we can't talk here. What is she doing? Shouldn't she be freaking out, not at school, something?'

"Danny," Sam managed to get out right before the boy turned to bolt. A Manson was, if nothing else, determined…and strangely capable of whipping any crowd into a frenzy, but that was besides the point, "Wait a second, would you?"

She caught hold of the young man, just as she had the other day, and held on, hoping to turn him to face her. He paused in his getaway, not sure if he should move away from her or not. They had been quiet the entire time, and so had attracted no attention from the few people that milled in the hall so very early in the morning.

Danny finally swallowed, hard and feeling as though he was chocking on the dryness of his mouth. He turned slightly, looking carefully over his shoulder at the girl, feeling the silence between them as though it were a wet, heavy blanket, cutting off his air supply as he floundered for something to say. Sam let the silence play out, before finally building up her courage and tugging Danny to turn him fully.

He noticed happily that she wasn't panicking, per say, though there was an edgy nervousness about her. One wrong move could completely blow their entire friendship out of safe and happy waters, and he never wanted that to pass between them.

"Look, Fenturd's here early this morning, score!"

Danny jerked his arm from Sam's hold just in time to move her backwards and out of the jocks' view as they came up in a stampede, ready to mess with one of their favorite targets. Sam moved at his insistent backing, as he herded her back towards the edge of the lockers and towards the corner, "Get around the corner Sam, I don't want them messing with you too."

"Hey, where you going Fenton?" Dash grabbed him roughly just as Sam skittered around the corner as told, realizing that the tone he had used to direct her had been the one she found most often coming from Phantom, reinforcing the ideas that had happened upon her already that concreted Danny and Phantom into one individual somehow, "C'mon man, we just want to talk to you…by your locker."

Danny was quickly dragged back towards his locker, several pairs of hands laid upon him to keep him from running or even thinking about fighting back, though Danny was sorely tempted. With Sam watching around the corner, he felt strangely incompetent and desperately wanted to fight his way free. As soon as they were far enough from the corner of the hall, he stopped resisting, letting himself be dragged wherever the others wished.

"Ready to get yourself shoved back in?" the locker next to his was opened quickly by one of Dash's friends as Dash grabbed the back of Danny's shirt to pull him closer, the better to yell at him, "You know, with all the time you spend in there, you might as well move in permanently. It's becoming your second home, huh?"

"Not really," Danny sneered, twisting slightly so when he was shoved in he would be put in sideways and not get slammed into the coat hook in the back. He knew personally that it was a terribly painful experience, "How about we don't shove me in the locker today, and instead allow me to wallow in my own pain and misery?"

"More nerd trouble," Dash laughed, ready to shove, though slightly curious as to what had Danny Fenton so down when he was usually so upbeat, "More with Valerie?"

"Nothing to do with her," Danny scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest and not noticing as Sam quietly made her way back around the corner, along the lockers, and stood just outside the ring of jocks, "That's been over for forever, why don't you try to keep up with the local rumors a little better Dash?"

"Rumors I can keep up with, it's math that I have trouble in," the much larger boy retorted, moving Danny steadily towards the locker, "Hey, I just heard a new one. About that Sam Manson who started hanging out with you and your stupid techno geek friend."

"What'd you hear?" Danny rolled his eyes and snorted, his arms still folded, "That she's a witch, that she's a crazy vegetarian, which is actually true by the way, or that she's some sort of secretive, sneaky girl who gets too curious for her own damn good?"

"Nah, nothing like that," Dash laughed as he pushed Danny up and into the locker before slamming it shut, speaking through the slats, "Just that she started actually being more social for once in her life. Gotta' run, we're almost late for morning practice."

The boys all laughed, shoving one another good naturedly and then quieting down as they came face to face with Sam Manson, in a fine mood with her eyes blazing fire, her arms crossed, and her heavy boots looking awfully dangerous. If anyone asked the boys, they would have sworn her eyes were slightly glassy, but Sam would have begged to differ. She was perfectly fine, not a tear in her eyes.

'Not one tear,' she sternly told herself as she approached the locker, looking up through the slats to see blue eyes staring back at her wide and frightened.

'She heard me,' he realized as he watched those strangely colored eyes grow deeper, darker, and wetter with every second of silence, 'I didn't mean…I was just angry, I thought she was far enough away…'

"Danny Fenton," she was shaking by that time, she was so upset with the young man, "I'm glad Dash shoved you in a locker. You can rot in there for all I care, but whatever your secret is, I would never tell a soul. I thought that was what a good friend was supposed to do…"

She marched off before giving Danny a chance to speak, heading to her first class to sit and brood. Sam Manson hadn't been so unapproachable for nearly a semester, and everyone noticed the black mood that was cast over the girl. The glares sent to anyone who dared even breath too loudly in her presence were a dead give away, and not even the teachers were immune to such treatment.

Sam seethed, feeling as though she was going to burst with all the unspoken emotions that were building up inside of her. If she thought she was in emotional turmoil, she had no clue as to what Danny was going through as he wandered through the day after carefully freeing himself from his locker by way of phasing out.

'What the hell possessed me to say something like that?' Danny wandered through the school day, dreading lunch more than any ghost he'd had to face or any fight he knew he'd have to finish. Worse than Pariah Dark, worse than Undergrowth, worse than Vlad, and somehow worse than even facing himself, older and darker than he could have ever imagined.

Walking into the lunch hall saw Sam sitting next to Tucker, picking at her food and not daring to look up, no matter how hard Tucker tried to get her to talk or smile or even acknowledge him. Danny had never had an icier glare from his best friend until that day when he walked over to the table.

Tucker knew, somehow, that whatever funk Sam was in had to do with Danny, and he was not at all pleased. She was Danny's friend yes, but she had become his friend as well, almost a sister. Tucker was furious on her behalf, and by the look on Danny's face, the halfa was well aware that he'd done something terribly wrong.

"Danny," the boy nodded, unsure of how to act to not upset Sam further and get the story out of Danny, "What's up?"

"Nothing," his voice was quiet, subdued, and drained, as though he was tired beyond all reason. Danny didn't even sit, "Nothing Tuck. I think I'm gonna' skip lunch today. I don't feel great…"

Sam said nothing and kept her head turned and lips pursed. Anger bubbled up as did tears and again she scolded herself silently, biting her lip almost hard enough to draw blood, as she ignored Danny's presence. She was mad now, but knew she'd eventually calm down. Danny, too, was upset. Neither were fairing well at the moment.

"I'm gonna' go," Danny nodded, knuckles white as he gripped his backpack, "Tell me what I miss in class, 'kay?"

"Class?" Tucker echoed, "You gonna' skip?"

"Yeah," Danny nodded, then turned and walked away, not sparing another word other than a quietly spoken, "Sorry."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Danny?" Maddie turned from the sink as her son sank into one of the kitchen chairs, slightly shocked that Danny was actually home right after school and not out with his friends, "Honey, what's wrong?"

The look on his face brought her motherly instincts out full force, ready to fight against whatever had so brought him down, even if it was the whole world. She quickly pulled out the seat beside him, watching as he tired ran a hand over his eyes and up through his hair, coming to rest at the base of his neck where he started rubbing.

"Come on honey," Maddie reached over and started rubbing his back in soothing circles, "It can't be as bad as the time the turkey came to life can it?"

"Worse Mom," Danny finally started talking, shaking his head with a wry grin as he remembered that hateful Thanksgiving where Jazz had saved both their hides, "Way worse. I screwed up royally and I don't think I can make it better."

"Did you kill anyone?" Maddie raised an eyebrow, a kind smile on her face as she watched Danny shake his head no, "Did you get a girl pregnant?"

"No Mom," Danny blushed as he shook his head, "I wouldn't do that."

"So no one's dead, and I don't have to kill you," Maddie leaned her head to the side as she gently teased her son, "I think we can figure out a way for you to fix whatever you think went so horribly wrong."

"I insulted Sam Manson behind her back, but she was standing right there and heard anyways. I said she was a sneaky, secretive girl who's a vegetarian and possibly a witch, who's too curious for her own good."

"Ouch," Maddie sat back with a frown, unsure of why her usually gentle, kind son would say such a thing, "With the exception of the vegetarian comment, I'd say you did mess up big time. Did she slap you?"

"I think she would have," Danny slumped over, hiding his face and mumbling through his arms, "I was kinda' stuffed in a locker at the time, so she just told me I could rot in it for all she cared. Said something about what she thought friends were supposed to do too."

"Ouch again," Maddie gently ran a hand through the boy's hair.

"Yeah, ouch," Danny agreed as he turned his face so he and his mother could see one another, "Do you think she would have slapped me?"

"Well, I can't really say as I've never met her," Maddie thought for a moment, smiling at how miserable her son seemed over such a trivial fight, "Why hasn't she come over before? You brought Valerie over often, why not this Sam?"

"We're not going out Mom," Danny blushed again, far more heavily this time, "We're friends…I mean, we just started being friends a few months ago. She probably hates me now, huh Mom?"

"Well, she might for a little while, but when you apologize, I'm sure she'll accept it," Maddie smiled, recalling a memory from her own days at school, though her thoughts were on college instead of high school, "Did I ever tell you that your father insulted me our junior year of college, pretty much the same way you did Sam?"

"He did?" Danny frowned, having trouble imagining his father ever insulting his mother, with the exception of their arguments over the real identity of Santa Claus, "What did he say?"

"What he said isn't important," Maddie shook her head, "The most important thing is that he apologized, and made up for what he said. He told me he was angry and it just popped out and I accepted it. I've done that myself a few times."

"If I could have kept my foot out of my mouth, I wouldn't have to apologize," the young man tiredly shook his head. Leaning back, Danny placed one hand over his eyes, trying to block out the world, "How do I tell her I didn't really mean it?"

"Why did you call her too curious and sneaky?" Maddie answered his question with one of her own, knowing her son well enough to discern he'd called this Sam Manson that for a reason.

"She…found out something that I didn't really want her to, or at least, she found out part of it," he was disgusted with himself for being so strange about it, knowing full well that both Jazz and Tucker handled it well enough, 'Why did I think she'd be any different? She's smart, and collected. She's…Sam.'

"So why don't you go and tell her the truth, honey?" she carefully placed a kiss on the side of Danny's forehead, hoping that her words were helping, "I know how important keeping secrets can be when you're a teen, so I won't ask, but I think that might be the best idea. She'll either accept it or not, and if not, you'll figure something out."

"Sweetie," she caught his chin, and pulled him around to face her fully, "Whatever happens will happen, but it will work out. It always does."

"I know, Mom," he smiled goofily for her then, the skin around his eyes wrinkling as he felt the weight lifted from him in her presence, as only a mother could make her child feel, "Thanks."

"No problem sweetie," she smiled sweetly back at her baby boy, glad that she had helped him work his way through the problem before him, "Now get to your homework so you have it done before dinner. We're having burgers tonight."

"Dad's not going to grill them on anything powered by ectoplasm is he?" the boy gulped, "I really don't feel like eating anything that could possibly eat me back tonight."

"No problem kiddo," Maddie grinned as she stood, "I'll make sure the meat stays dead, just for you tonight."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"For once, the food was alright," Danny headed back upstairs after the semi-happy evening spent with his family. It was a good of course, because his family was always good company, though it was an meal overshadowed by his worry, 'I hope she forgives me, I can't stand it when a girl's mad at me, even more so when they're my friend.'

'Would it be better to go and talk to her now?' he sat heavily in his computer chair and pushed off, letting it spin him around and around, imagining himself floating among the stars as his spaceship spun around the earth, 'No, not now. She's probably still mad. I can't do it at school, that won't be a good place to talk about it, so I'll either not go to school or stay away from Sam. I could do it tomorrow night…'

'Tomorrow night,' he thought it over, liking the idea better and better as it rolled through his head, 'I'll just…avoid her at school and talk to her tomorrow night at her house. I mean, I've been there before, so that shouldn't be a big deal, right?'

"Right," Danny finally stopped his spinning and dizzily stood to move to his bed, shedding his pants and shirt on the way, standing in his boxers in front of the small mirror that hung on his wall, "Now if I can just convince my nerves of that I'll be fine."

The mirror stared back, blue eyes icy from the whirl of feelings running through him, mouth in a thin, grim line from the uncertainty he was suffering. Wiry muscles lined his arms, chest, stomach, and legs, and several small scars stood out clearly on his skin, making him wonder how people missed them during the summer when he went swimming or when he changed for gym.

His black hair was a shaggy mess atop his head, and running his fingers through it only worsened its condition. He was good looking to a point, though he was fairly goofy at times, and he admitted he had a killer smile when he turned it on. He could be charming when he had a mind to, as Valerie had mentioned once or twice, but he rarely used that talent.

He was an average kid trying to live an average life, but was failing miserably.

Blue rings encircled his waist and the light washed over him, leaving him standing in his ever present black and white jumpsuit, with glowing neon green eyes, blindingly white hair, and the strange urge to float instead of stand that he often had to fight against when grounded as he was now. Where did the blue eyed, black haired youth of before go?

'Nowhere,' he sighed as he looked himself over this way, 'I'm still me, even though I look different. Can do different things…'

He looked taller, but that might have been an illusion of the white boots that adorned his feet. The gloves made his hands look slightly larger, and the body hugging jumpsuit made his muscles stand out far greater than his normal t-shirt and jeans did. The jumpsuit felt smaller now as well, making his body's lines and contours more pronounced as he had grown over the years, though the material seemed to keep up fairly well with his growth spurts.

He looked this time more appraisingly, no longer with the eyes of a confused young man, but rather with the eyes of a seasoned fighter, judging himself and determining his own worth. He was powerful, strong and fast, and clever most of the time, able to outwit or outthink his opponents when he needed to.

'I can save the world, stop ghosts from altering reality, and still manage to pull a C average,' he chuckled to himself as he looked down at the gloves that covered clenched hands, 'but I can't seem to work up the courage to talk to one short, spunky girl. To apologize for Christ's sake. I've thanked her when I barely knew her, and now I can't even think of how to talk to her. I'm planning on avoiding her at school.'

"Coward," his eyes narrowed as he spat the word at his reflection, wondering where his guts, his gusto had gone to. He was brave, undefeated, and now stood quivering in his boots in fear of one high school girl, 'That's fantastic. Ember would definitely get a kick out of this…Vlad would never let me live it down…and I don't even want to think about what the stupid Ghost Writer would have to say about it.'

'Tomorrow,' he nodded firmly, once as Phantom until the blue rings changed him, then again as Fenton, finally feeling ready to head off to bed, "Tomorrow."

It was like a prayer on his lips as he lay down, his head sinking into his pillow, repeating the word and driving it into himself lest he try to back out, 'I want this to work out…I…I want her to know. I want to see what she has to say, what she does. I want her to know that when she talks to Phantom, when he saves her…that it's me. I'm the one talking to her and saving her and…'

A blush covered his cheeks as he lay in the darkness, thinking over her features and how exotically beautiful she could look at times. How she could make him laugh so easily and how he could do the same in return. Danny groaned as he turned over, thinking of her smile, her eyes, the way she blew that one stupid piece of hair out of her eyes.

If he didn't have it bad before, he suddenly realized, he certainly did now. Articulating that, however, would be another story entirely, and Danny determined that he'd take one hurtle at a time.

'Tomorrow is about apologizing,' he firmly reminded himself, slipping off towards a tortured sleep, 'Sam…'

What he didn't know was that Sam was thinking something along the same lines, hoping and praying she'd get the chance to catch Danny for a second time at school, to apologize for overreacting. He probably was stressed out and said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and it had been obvious at lunch how horribly he felt. If she could just…but she never finished her thoughts as she too drifted off to sleep, wondering if things were ever going to get back to normal.

If she'd still have friends by the end of the week.


	15. Argument

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Ack! More teenage angst, so be forewarned…it's going to get a bit…thick, lol!  
Remember that Sam only knows that Danny and Phantom are connected somehow and she has many theories on how, though she has no clue which is correct.

Enjoy!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Fifteen: Argument  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Who does he think he is?' Sam was all spit and fire as she slammed into the school that morning, ready to forgive the idiotic boy she called her friend, but not without letting him have it first, 'He can't just insult me, say a quiet sorry at lunch, and then skip school the rest of the day.'

Danny was again at his locker, though he seemed done already and was leaning back against it, waiting for the bell to ring or whatever else might happen. He looked tired, as though he'd barely slept, and his face was drawn tight in thought. Sam thought over his posture before deciding that whatever was wrong had better have to do with their earlier falling out or he'd have hell to pay.

'Whatever he's thinking, it better be one of two things,' Sam started her approach, ready to get into a fight and have it out, then make up with her friend and feel better, 'One, he's a silly ass who should apologize better, or two he's a sorry ass and he needs to apologize to me again.'

As soon as Sam was about fifteen feet from Danny his head snapped towards her and in the span of time it took Sam to blink the boy was gone, completely disappeared from the lockers and the hallway surrounding her. She was sure she was standing there, gaping like a complete idiot, but how had no one else noticed? There were a few people standing around, but none had seen what she had.

'Where…?' she glanced around the hall, scanning it again to make sure he hadn't just slipped under the radar somehow, 'How in the world can a boy just disappear? Unless there's some sort of ghostly influence of course…which there is, but how? I still can't figure that part out…how can a ghost and a boy, who I've touched and know is alive, be the same person?'

Sam decided that perhaps Danny had just stuffed himself in his locker to avoid her, but then he would have had to have it open. Which he could have, she admitted to herself. Glancing through the slats, she saw nothing, and so moved to the next locker where he'd been stuffed the day before. Again, she found nothing and stood with a frown against Danny's locker until the bell rang, wondering where both of her boy's were at that morning.

'Why did he disappear?' Sam was starting to feel more and more hurt as her morning wore on, pondering the possibility that he didn't want to face her, didn't want to apologize again or make up or still be friends. She knew she was probably overreacting, but the sting from the insults as well as being ignored and avoided so completely was really wearing on her nerves, 'Stupid teenage melodrama.'

The thought that perhaps she had been imagining things appeared halfway through her class right before lunch. She hadn't slept well the last few nights, hadn't gotten breakfast that morning, and had practically ran to school for the second time in a row, 'Maybe I was seeing things. A product of an overly hopeful mind running on too little slept that was restless and an empty stomach. That's been known to cause hallucinations before, so why not?'

'Maybe at lunch,' Sam decided wearily as she watched the clock on the classroom wall, silently pressing it to move faster, 'I just wanted to know…and I refuse to believe it's as bad a thing as Danny's making it out to be.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Lunch rolled around all too soon for Danny, but not soon enough for Sam, both of whom were having the same line of thought concerning one another, 'Do they even want to see me?'

Peeking in through the doors found the cafeteria empty, and Danny boldly strode in, glad to have managed to be the first person to lunch. The boy was in line as quick as humanly possible to grab his food, swipe his card, and sit to eat his food before Sam or Tucker got there. He was shoveling it down when Tucker appeared in front of him, arms crossed and not at all happy with how strangely his friend had been acting.

"Alright, what the heck is going on?" the demand was clearly stated, and Danny heaved a sigh as he paused in his rapid eating, "I know that something happened between you and Sam, so don't eve try to deny it."

"We…kinda' got in a fight…over," here Danny paused for a second, before changing the subject and asking Tucker a question that had been bothering him for weeks, "Do you think it would be a good thing if Sam found out, or if she knew?"

"Um," Tucker lowered himself into a chair and watched the boy across from him continue to shovel food into his moth, even as he waited eagerly for Tucker to answer, "Well, it could be a good thing. One more person to help cover for you, she's definitely smart so she could help me do research for you, and you've told me about how calm she is most of the time, so she'd definitely be a level head for you."

"So it'd be a good thing?" Danny swallowed his mouthful and stared hard at his best friend, "Or it could be a bad thing, Tuck. You always get in trouble, you've been hurt before and Jazz has too. You always cover my butt for me, always end up getting in bad situations that you can't necessarily get yourself out of, and have been used against me a few times by my enemies. Are you sure it would be such a good thing if all that is going to happen to Sam?"

"You're forgetting something Danny," Tucker frowned at his friends attitude, knowing full well that Danny was too much of a worrier sometimes, "I get into trouble and all that because you're my friend. Jazz does it because you're her brother, and we both do it because we care about you, man. I didn't get pushed into anything, I chose to do it. I'm your friend, and I'm gonna' watch your back for you. If Sam does find out, it'll be her choice if she gets involved or not."

"What about all the times she's been involved already?" Danny shook his head, knowing that Tucker was wearing him down like he always did with his good common sense. Jazz would probably be telling him the same thing, if he knew his sister, "You don't exactly have a choice if say…Vlad decides to kidnap you and lure me out."

"No, but she's handled it pretty well so far hasn't she?" the question caught Danny slightly off guard and the young man found himself nodding solemnly even as he finished off his rushed meal, "Yeah, if she doesn't want to be involved she might be forced a few times, but she'll know it isn't your fault and still be your friend. Sam isn't the type of person to just dump her friends for anything less than treason."

"I dunno'," he was still unsure and crumpled his napkin in accordance with his hectic feelings at the moment, torn between wanting Sam to know and dreading what might happen to her because of knowing, "I still feel like it will force her into being another one of my scapegoats…my greatly appreciated and helpful scapegoats, but scapegoats none the less…"

Tucker laughed at Danny's thoughts, wondering at how badly the halfa obviously felt even though Jazz and himself chose to help him out and get in trouble, "Danny, if Sam finds out it will be her choice what happens. She's stubborn and smart, and she'll be able to make a decision when the time comes."

"Yeah, but it's the stubborn part that worries me," the boy grimaced, thinking over the times she'd stood up to Shadow, to Johnny 13, and to the cat creature, "She'll jump in to defend anyone without thinking about the consequences to herself. I'm…I'm afraid she'll get herself killed."

"She won't," the other boy reassured, smiling at how concerned Danny was over Sam, "You'll always get there in the nick of time to play hero and rescue the damsel in distress."

"Yeah, well the damsel in distress has already saved my butt a few times," Danny shook his head once more, rolling his eyes over how eager Sam could get to save someone. As his eyes passed over the door however, Danny spotted Sam standing at the door, just as she had been that morning, a determined look on her face, "Gotta' run."

"What?" Tucker followed his gaze, watching as Danny quickly grabbed all his things and got ready to run, "Why, shouldn't you be apologizing to her?"

"I will," Danny looked over his shoulder as he headed away from the table and for another door, "Just…not at school."

The hurried look he shot over his shoulder landed not on Tucker though, but on Sam who suddenly looked hurt, and almost made Danny stay. He couldn't really have the conversation he needed to at school, and so he was forced to retreat, hoping she'd forgive him for being so rude. He hoped with all his heart on that one thought, 'Please Sam, I really am sorry…'

"Tucker, what is going on?" Sam's helpless face made Tucker want to throttle Danny, her upset clearly displayed as she watched the boy retreat from the cafeteria in record time, apparently away from her, "Why is he running away? This is the second time he's done this. Do you know where he's going?"

"No clue, to any of those questions," he watched as she slammed her bag down on the table and took off towards the door Danny was just getting to after dropping off his tray, "Sam?"

"I'm going to find out what is wrong with him," Sam was away from the table at a quick walk, forcing herself to stay calm. Beating him into talking probably wouldn't work, even if she really wanted to get a good kick in for him being so stupid, 'Where is he going?'

Danny pushed the doors open and stepped out, with Sam only a second behind. The doors hadn't even shut fully yet when Sam grabbed the handles and pulled them back open, finding the hallway completely void of any life what so ever. She glanced around this particular wing, noticing it was one long hallway with no offshoots that Danny could have sprinted to. His only option would have been one of the classrooms that lined the corridor.

'How does he do that?' Sam thought as she started to peer into classrooms, looking for any sign that Danny had been through, 'These doors are all locked, and there is no way he would have made it all the way to the end of the hall before I got out those doors. I was literally only a second behind him…'

A chill ran through her body suddenly as she passed through a particularly cool spot of air, a gasp coming from her mouth followed by a sharp intake of breath that she didn't make. It was rather disconcerting, and somehow strangely familiar as a cold as death sensation washed over her, "Hello?"

There was no reply, but the chill seemed to be moving away, and so Sam quickly pushed her hands out, hoping to find what was causing it, or rather who was causing it. One hand passed through nothing but chilled air, while the other landed on something soft, perhaps material of some kind. The realization that she had touched a gloved hand passed through her just as the owner of the invisible hand drew in another sharp breath and jerked away. The cold in the hall diminished rapidly after that, with no clue as to where it had come from or gone to.

'That was definitely a ghost,' Sam curled her hand into a fist, holding it in her other hand to ward off the biting cold she was still experiencing, 'And the only ghost I know that wears gloves is Phantom.'

'Am I being avoided by one person or two?' Sam laughed patronizingly at herself, wondering at the odd situation she had somehow gotten herself into, 'Is he Phantom, or Danny, or both, or what? I should be getting an apology, not being avoided! I've been trying all day to just talk to him and he keeps running off. I'm the one that was insulted, I should be the one avoiding him!'

The echo of a boot slamming into the lower half of a locker rang through the hallway as Sam tiredly sighed and ran a hand over her hair to smooth it back. She leaned back against the lockers, then slid down to sit with her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped under her knees to hold her skirt up and block her unmentionables from public view, though there was no one currently visible in the hallway, 'Though that doesn't mean there isn't anyone around…'

'I just don't understand,' Sam let her head fall back and hit the metal behind her, closing her eyes as a headache started, 'I should never have called Phantom Danny. Maybe they're upset because I thought they were related and they're not. Maybe they secretly hate each other or something.'

The thought seemed silly somehow though, and Sam couldn't picture Danny or Phantom hating the other, let alone being separate people. The more she thought, the more similarities she could come up with. Danny had an older sister, and Phantom had mentioned a sister at one point. Danny's family made the thermoses that Phantom used, and Sam had seen one come out of Danny's locker and into his backpack many times. Both Phantom and Danny were right handed, both of them had the same smile, both wrinkled their eyes the same way when they were joking with her. Danny was constantly tired, the ghost equipment his parents had always went off when he was around, Jazz and Tucker were constantly covering for him when he'd disappear.

'There's just too much evidence, but not enough proof,' Sam began to gingerly rub at her temples, wanting her forming headache to disappear as easily as Danny apparently could, 'I was stupid to think I owe him an apology for finding out. I mean, why shouldn't I try to figure it out, is it illegal to be smart?'

Sam folded her legs under her and crossed her arms after rearranging her skirt, suddenly upset once again with Danny, her hot temper coming to the surface again as she simmered in the hall for the rest of lunch. If he thought she would seek him out again, he was wrong. If anything was going to happen it would have to be him to her.

'No more trying to figure this out,' Sam bit her lip, nodding to herself, 'If something happens fine, but if not, he's going to be in a world of hurt for being a jerk…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'I'm such a girl,' Sam angrily scolded herself as she stood outside the detention room that Danny could be found in ninety percent of the time, 'I told myself I wouldn't try to find him, and what do I do as soon as I get the chance? I try to find him…'

Cursing herself for her natural curiosity and the urgent need to know, Sam pulled the door open, finding not Danny, but another boy sitting under Lancer's watchful eyes. A stammered apology was out of her mouth as she quickly shut the door and ignored the questioning eyes of Lancer and the student. Obviously, Danny didn't have detention or had skipped out of it, knowing she would seek him out, 'That seems like something Danny would do if he was trying to avoid someone.'

Sam walked the familiar path from Lancer's room to the hall with her locker, and her heart leapt slightly when she saw Danny standing at his locker, apparently ignoring a very upset Tucker, 'So maybe I was just being a bit harsh and he didn't have it today. That doesn't excuse him from running away again if he does it though.'

One second Danny was standing there talking to Tucker, then he opened his locker and Tucker's frown drew down even further as the boy reached up and slammed the locker door shut. Sam was horrified for a moment, and hoping that Danny didn't get too hurt and that the two boys wouldn't start fighting when she realized Danny was no where to be seen. One second there, the next second gone.

"Tucker?" Sam gently laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, feeling how tense he was and wondering what had just happened, "Are you okay?"

"No…yes," Tucker let out a sigh and the tenseness in his shoulders melted away, making Sam smile slightly, "Danny's just a little…weird sometimes."

"Tell me about it," she folded her arms as Tucker turned to face her, "Did you know he's been avoiding me all day Tuck?"

"I didn't until he up and ran at lunch," the young man slid his hat off to scratch at the top of his head, "I asked him about it and he said something about you two getting into a fight and he thinks it's better if he just stays out of your way for today or something like that. I told him he was being stupid, and we both kinda' disagreed…"

"So now you two are fighting because I'm upset with him," Sam leaned her head back and closed her eyes, dreading the rest of the afternoon if both Tucker and Danny were in sour moods, "Great. Just great."

"What happened yesterday between you two?" Tucker frowned as he watched Sam, upset that he had just made her feel even worse, "Honestly I'm not that upset with Danny, I'm just trying to get him to calm down and see reason. He has a tendency to worry too much and go about things in a roundabout way."

"I'm glad that you aren't upset," Sam moved slightly, indicating that she was ready to leave and when Tucker followed her she thankfully started moving towards the exit, ready to be out of school for the day, "He just…said something stupid yesterday that I wasn't supposed to hear, and I was really insulted and I told him I was…kinda'."

"Well don't take it personally," Tucker laughed, happy that he finally knew what this whole mess was about, "Danny suffers from foot in mouth disease sometimes, especially when it comes to a girl that he likes."

"Likes?" Sam shook her head, thankful that Tucker was, for once, ignoring her rather prominent blush, "No, Danny doesn't like me. He was just…being a boy, I guess. Besides, why would he be avoiding me if he liked me? Why would he have said what he did if he liked me?"

"He didn't mean it Sam," Tucker tried to soothe, but he knew that until Danny told her it wouldn't mean much coming from him, "He's just bad around people sometimes…he's goofy, you know that."

"Do you…do you know what Danny's secret is?"

Tucker stopped walking in the middle of the hall, causing several people to bump into the pair until they were standing a bit too close for Sam's liking, though she wasn't necessarily uncomfortable with the boy, "I don't know what you're talking about Sam."

There was something in the way he said it that made Sam think otherwise, though the look in his eyes was begging her to drop it. She did so, but not before Tucker took hold of her arm and started walking again towards the exit, leaning slightly closer to her to answer her again in a slightly different way, "I know a lot of Danny's secrets Sam. I've known him since first grade, but don't expect me to tell any of them. He trusts me, and Danny doesn't have a lot of people he can trust."

A frustrated breath passed Sam's lips, even as she nodded her understanding, "Do you at least know where he's run off to?"

"Nope," Tucker let her go as they walked through the doors, seeing a bewildered Jazz looking around for Danny as they approached, "I don't think anyone can find him if he doesn't want to be found though, so don't even try to look for him."

"He'll show up eventually," Jazz seconded what Tucker had said while thinking over what she had overheard Tucker say, "Why'd he run off?"

"Stupid fight," Sam got out before looking away and towards home, feeling more hurt and angry now than she had yesterday when it had actually happened, "See you guys later, I'm going home."

"Bye," the double reply came from behind her. Tucker and Jazz exchanged confused looks before Jazz offered him a ride home, hoping to get the story out of Tucker, or at least as much as he knew. Sam wondered down the street after watching them leave. She couldn't wait for Danny to show up and she swore to herself that the next time she spotted him, he'd get a piece of her mind, even if it meant yelling it down the hallway at school and mortally embarrassing herself in the process.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'That is probably not good,' Danny watched silently as Tucker left with his sister, probably pouring out half of the story and a few interpretations of his own, 'Jazz is going to roast me when I get home…'

Sam walked steadily towards her home, though her pace was measured and sharp, the silence settling over her heavily as her unhappiness was clearly displayed on her face. Danny wanted to beat himself up for doing that to her, and began to doubt his plan. Maybe he should have let her catch him, should have told her what he could at school, then promised to explain more later. There were too many 'should haves' floating in his mind though, and he couldn't exactly do anything to change what had already happened.

He knew better than to mess with time after all.

The halfa followed her all the way home, silently keeping watch over her slight form as he floated far above her to keep a repeat of what had happened in the hallway from happening again. It had been odd that she'd managed to catch his hand as he tried to slip around her, invisible and giving off a slight chill as he moved as quietly as he could.

As soon as she wrenched open the door, Danny paused, thinking over what he was about to do. He had to make sure this went right, and that Sam understood what it meant to know who and what he was. His only problem was he'd mess it up somehow like he always did, and with Sam as upset as she was, and with as quick a temper as she had, the young man was praying for a miracle.

He floated up to her window and waited, relieved when she finally made it upstairs and locked her door against her questioning parents. Things were said about her clothes, her hairstyle, about school and grades, about her standing in society and Sam simply stood behind her locked door and listened to them all, her small hands balling into fists until she was finally fed up and marched away.

The girl sank into her bed and grabbed a pillow to hold to her chest, pushing a button on a small remote that revealed a huge stereo which immediately drowned out her parents. Her eyes shut as she mouthed something that looked amazingly like, 'Horrible day.'

'Today was horrible,' she let her head fall back as her parents finally gave up and walked away, leaving Sam to the peace her stereo created for her with blasting music, 'Maybe I really am too curious for my own damn good…'

As soon as she lay her head back, Danny decided he might never get another chance and swallowed his fears of rejection, of hate, of anger, of fear, and phased cleanly through her window, letting his cold nature alert her to his presence as he hovered a few inches off the floor, head down with his bangs covering his eyes, and his fists at his side, hoping she wouldn't scream at him.

Sam felt the chill run over her and sat upright, her eyes landing on Phantom first thing standing in the air by her window, 'Someone doesn't have a problem with letting themselves in obviously…'

He could feel his palms start sweating, which felt odd, as Sam's gaze swept over him, pulling his eyes up to meet her own. She held his eyes for a few moments, the music washing over them both and nearly lulling Danny into a false sense of security until Sam stood up, still holding the pillow in one of her hands.

She felt it itching on her tongue and dared, for the second time, to put it all on the line and ask Phantom the question that would solve the riddle of the young ghost. A deep breath was drawn in, then pushed back out as the air suddenly felt stagnant around her.

"Danny?"

The nod that followed was short and had his hair bouncing over those strange green eyes, fear apparent as he swallowed hard, as though sentencing himself to some horrific torture. He shut his eyes, turned his head, and changed, just for Sam.

The blue rings started around his waist, and as they made their painstakingly slow journey both up and down his body Sam could hardly believe her eyes. Where a black and white jumpsuit had been was now a ringer t-shirt and blue jeans, tennis shoes replacing white boots, and the gloves completely gone. A boy was left in the place of the ghost and soon his feet hit the floor with a gentle thump as he fell from the air and onto her carpet.

Sam was speechless, her own ideas of how Phantom could be related to Danny being nowhere near this, 'He…it's one person, but…I don't understand, how is that possible? How can Danny be Phantom? He's still alive…isn't he?'

"Hi," Danny's voice snapped her out of her musing as she realized she'd been staring open mouthed for a good minute or so. Danny was left standing in the silence with only the music for background noise as he shifted nervously from one foot to the other and let Sam stare at him, her eyes creeping over him from the top of his head down to his feet, taking in each feature that had changed in coloring, and yet remained exactly the same.

"Sam, I…," he took another deep breath, listening to the strange jumpy sound his breathing made from being so nervous. His mind finally wrapped around the fact that he'd just revealed himself to her, solidifying any speculation she might have had about him and Phantom being related somehow, "I'm sorry I said that the other day. I was just upset that you had figured it out, that you were going to tell people and I couldn't risk that happening. I was…I was scared."

"Scared?" Sam latched on to that word and one other part of his small speech, "You were scared that I was going to tell someone, and then even after I said I'd never give my friends' secrets away you still avoid me all day?"

She was in complete disbelief, 'How could he say something like that? How could he think that about me? I thought he knew me better than that…'

"It's really stupid of you to even have tried to figure it out Sam," he shot back, ignoring her in favor of letting her know how dangerous a mistake she could have made as he felt his ire rise at her accusing voice, "Your curiosity could have gotten you killed, do you realize that? What if I wasn't Phantom or…or if someone heard you?"

"So I'm stupid and too curious for my own good again?" she ground out, then threw the pillow she had as hard as she could at him, finding some satisfaction as it caught him dead in the face, then dropped to display his shocked countenance, "Then what is your point in apologizing to me if you really meant it anyways? Don't pity me Danny, I've had enough of that from people that think I'm some pathetic loser who can't make friends or even socialize."

"I don't pity you," Danny knew the situation was getting out of control but couldn't bring himself to stop, he was angry now, just as Sam was, and he felt like he had to make her understand something…though what he wasn't sure, "but you don't have the right to go around and stick your nose into anybody's business!"

'Thank God the radio's on,' Sam ground her teeth as Danny raised his voice just as she had, though she was too angry to really care if they actually got caught arguing in her room, "Just get out of my room, Danny. You can't come in here anytime you want just because you're…whatever you are. Phantom or however it works. You don't have the right to just barge in, and besides that you're a guy. For all I know, you could have spied on me in the shower or changing my clothes or something!"

"That is the stupidest…," he ran a hand through his hair in frustration as he began to pace in front of her window, "What is your problem, Sam, I wouldn't do that and you know it."

"I don't know that Danny," Sam felt like crying, but she wasn't one to so easily give in when in the middle of a fight, though it hurt like hell to yell at her friend, "I don't even really know you anymore."

"You don't know me?" he repeated her statement sarcastically, questioningly, not believing she'd just dismissed all those weeks and months of conversation, of friendship with one another, "You do know me! You know _both _sides of me."

"I don't really know you at all then."

A sudden vindictiveness fell over him as he recoiled from her in hurt that she 'didn't know him' any longer, "You know what? I could get in here to do whatever you think I would, but you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't come in here to look at some Goth. Who would want such a stubborn, nosy, freaky girl who wears black all the freakin' time and thinks she's better than everyone else?"

"You know damn well that I don't think I'm better than anyone, Danny Fenton," Sam could feel herself shaking, ready to scream at what he had said. Somehow she knew it was said out of anger and hurt, that he didn't really believe that, but it felt real enough at that moment, "You're being an ass and an inconsiderate jerk. I _thought _you were my friend."

"Shut up, Sam," the air was practically crackling audibly now with the energy leaking out of the irate halfa, "Just shut up…please."

He tried to calm himself down, thankful when Sam did as he demanded and stayed quiet until he could get a hold of himself. Whether she stopped talking because she knew something bad was about to happen or because she was hurt from what he'd said and the tone he used, was another matter. Things were spiraling out of control too fast, and his own control had been slipping because of it.

'His eyes were green,' Sam noticed as soon as he'd told her to shut up. She watched as he closed his eyes, turned his head, clenched his fist, and took several deeps breaths, apparently trying to regain some calm and restraint, 'I really made him pissed, I've never seen Danny this mad…no, when he was Phantom and fighting Johnny 13...his eyes were yellow then. I'm pretty sure I've never seen Danny's eyes flash green before, though.'

Sam stared at him the entire time that he stood with his eyes closed, and he knew her eyes were boring a hole into his head. The energy faded and Danny's shoulders slumped under the stress he was feeling, relieved that nothing bad had actually happened, but afraid of the intensity of feelings that had been running through him as he and Sam had fought.

"Get out," Sam ordered in a quieter voice, finally sure that he was calm enough to talk, "I refuse to be yelled at anymore Danny, so just leave."

He was out the window and gone before she even finished her quite insistence that he go. A streak of light raced across the sky as Sam watched outside, knowing that it was Danny in all his frustration and anger. Sinking down to sit at her window, Sam gave in and let a few silent tears fall down her face in streaks as she cursed his stubbornness, his stupidity, his close-mindedness, and her own faults that had led to such a disastrous evening.

Danny spent the evening at his window in much the same way, silently wish that things had been different. Silently, because of a fear that someone might over hear and grant it and things would be five times worse, if that was even possible.

He didn't know how, but he'd made a major fight between the two of them end more violently than it had the day before and he cursed himself for a fool, 'Why can't I just say one thing right? Just once in my life, why can't I find the right words?'

Jazz found him still sitting up the next morning, though she didn't ask, because she didn't have to. She just knew that things had gone wrong and sat beside him, gently hugging him as he watched the world outside, angry at himself and desperately afraid he'd ruined his fragile relationship with Sam.

"It's still pretty early," Jazz leaned her head towards his digital clock, "and I'll bet she's awake too and I'm pretty sure no girl can resist a sorry boy standing outside her window begging forgiveness."

"Do you think…?" but he stopped as Jazz just smiled at her young brother, pulling him up along with her, "Thank you."

"Like I always say little brother, anytime for you," she gently ruffled his hair, then turned towards the door, "I'll tell Mom and Dad you left early for a project."

"Thanks," a ghostly voice echoed around the room and saw Jazz on her way as the young man went on his own. It was time to make things right, and Danny knew just how and where to start with Sam. Hopefully she wouldn't keep him outside for too long…


	16. Negotiation

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Yay, life gets better again, though the story isn't over yet. We've got four more chapter after this one, so keep yer hat on! Arr.  
PS-I'm in a pirate-ish mood for some reason, though it isn't reflected in the story.

Enjoy!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Sixteen: Negotiation  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Alright, deep breath, you can do this,' he coached himself in the predawn light, hovering right outside Sam's window, watching as said girl lay up against the window frame as she sat on the cushioned sill, 'Just don't stick your damn foot in your mouth again Fenton.'

It was nearing four o'clock and Sam had yet to catch a wink of sleep, feeling worse and worse for the things she had said and done, 'I can't believe I threw my pillow in his face…I guess it was better than slapping him like I wanted to though.'

A sharp wrapping on her window caused Sam to fall off the sill in fright, catching herself on hands and knees at the last second. She carefully pulled herself up so her eyes were visible above the edge of the window seat to find Danny as Phantom with his face and both hands plastered against the windowpane, eyes filled with worry at the tumble she had taken.

"Are you okay?" his echoing voice sounded strange as it was muffled by the glass, and Sam gingerly pulled her head up further to nod at him, wondering why in the world he was floating outside her window at such an early hour and so soon after their fight.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she stood, watching as Danny moved back from her window and floated with his legs bent back slightly at the knees and his hands behind his back. The ghost boy before her blushed and cleared his throat as he looked away from her.

"Trying not to be so much of an ass and trying to apologize a little better," he moved his hands in front of him and began to play with his gloves, hopeful that she wasn't too mad to listen to him, "I thought I should knock this time, you know, so I didn't just…come in, but I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me," Sam unlatched her window and opened it so she could hear him better. She could also lean out into the fresh night air this way and enjoy her strange balcony-esque conversation, "Startled, but not scared. I think I was almost dozing actually."

"Oh," the boy looked worried, afraid that he had yet again mess things up, "I'll go…s-sorry."

"No, Danny," she leaned out a bit father than she really should have and caught his foot as he turned, suddenly balancing herself on the window ledge, "Um…now I'm a little stuck…"

Danny chuckled a little, trying to keep it to himself so she wouldn't get mad, but Sam joined him and both were soon laughing at the absurdity of the situation they were in. Danny twisted slightly to grab Sam's hand where it held his boot, and then gently caught her upper arm with his other hand to give her a slight push back towards the window. Sam landed back inside and looked down in embarrassment, even as she laughed. It was ridiculous, but at least it was a momentary diversion from the talk both knew was coming.

"Can I, um, come in?"

Sam looked up to see Danny patiently floating right outside her window again, not daring to come any closer than he had when he helped her back in, "Yes."

"Like I said," he ducked into her open window, then sat on the cushion beside her, instantly changing in a flash of blue light back into the human Danny as she had come to think of him, "I didn't just want to barge in. I know that kinda' upset you before, and I really should have thought about that. I wouldn't want someone to just come into my room whenever they felt like it."

"Thanks for knocking, then," Sam nodded, a tiny smile on her face at how considerate he was trying to be, "I don't mind you coming over, but it is kinda' weird that you can just…come through the wall if you want. I'm still trying to get it in my head that you're Danny _and_ Phantom. It's…strange."

"Yeah," Danny let out a quite laugh, not wanting to wake anyone at such an odd hour in the morning, "It is pretty weird. I've been like this for almost two years now."

"I always wondered how Phantom, er…you had died," Sam realized her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth, and she scrambled to take it back, "I mean, if you died…which I guess you didn't, though I'm not really sure. I'm sorry if I insulted you…or…"

She was desperately trying to get herself out of the tangled confusion she had found herself in, and it wasn't working very well. She finally gave up with a huff and folded her arms, watching as Danny's eyes twinkled in amusement at her predicament, "Maybe you should just ask. I'm not gonna' get upset, I promise. I've heard it all before anyways, and I'm honestly just glad that you aren't…afraid of me or anything…especially after what I…how I lost it last night."

"I'm not afraid of you," Sam laid her hand over Danny's larger, folded pair, catching his eye before he could hide behind his bangs, "That _was _kinda' scary, with your eyes going green and all, but I knew you wouldn't hurt me. It was…kinda' cool now that I can look back at it. You really are pretty powerful."

"Yeah," the boy moved one of his hands to capture Sam's between both of his, staring down at where he held it softly, "but with great power comes great responsibility."

"Pretty philosophical for a bad boy," she teased, relieved when he let a grin slip and his mood lightened immediately, "So…are you, um. Are you dead?"

The wince on her face was adorable, or so Danny thought and he chuckled at how upset she seemed about asking, "Nope, or at least not the last time I checked. I guess I'm kinda' half dead though. I'm a halfa, that's what my kind is called by other ghosts in the ghost zone."

"A halfa," Sam repeated, then caught his statement right after the unfamiliar word had left his lips, "What do you mean by 'my kind'?"

"Well, see," he pulled his bottom hand away and rubbed at the back of his neck, pulling a funny face that had one of Sam's eyebrows raised, "There's another guy who lives in Wisconsin…he's kinda my arch-nemesis. He's a halfa too, and about twenty years my senior. We're the only two in existence with the exception of my clone."

"You have a clone?" Sam's voice clearly spoke her disbelief, "Okay, now I know you're trying to trick me or pull my leg or whatever."

"No, I really do have a clone," he rolled his eyes, "The only thing is, she's about five years younger than me…and a she. Vlad, my arch-nemesis from Wisconsin, made her to try to beat me…only she's unstable, so she'll melt if she uses too much energy in a fight."

"Right," Sam nodded, a little shocked at all the strange information being given to her in such a heap, "Um, can we move on to something else…like, what a halfa is exactly so my brain can process your…clone problem."

"Oh, Danielle isn't a problem really, more of a pest when she wants to visit. She's actually a pretty nice kid," Danny pulled a thoughtful smile and Sam was left reeling again, "Let's see…a halfa is a hybrid between a human and the ectoplasm from the ghost zone that gets etched into his DNA, usually from an electrical blast that bonds the two."

"Ooookay," Sam stood and gently pulled her hand away as she began to walk around the room, "So, half human, half ghost?"

"Yep," the boy nodded, watching her carefully before determining that she was handling it well enough and could handle a little more before he made her brain explode, though that wasn't exactly a pretty thought, so he continued talking, "My parents built a portal at the beginning of my freshman year that would give them a gateway into the ghost zone to do research. It didn't work though, so they gave up on it for the day and went to get dinner ready. Tucker was over that day and dared me to go in, but I didn't…or at least not until that evening."

"Why did you wait?"

"I don't know," Danny paused to reflect on that pivotal moment in his life, "I didn't want to, but Tucker wasn't really pushy about it. That night though, I felt like I hadn't done something I was supposed to, like I had missed out on something. I snuck down to the lab to check out the portal again, and figured I could at least look at it. I like fixing my Mom and Dad's stuff, so I figured what the heck, maybe I can fix it."

"So you went in and got electrocuted," Sam filled in the rest of the story, though something was still bothering her, "Where'd the ghost DNA or whatever come from then?"

"That's the funny part," Danny folded his arms and leaned back slightly as he remembered that fateful night, "I pulled on a jumpsuit, so I wouldn't get dirty, and then went in to take a look. Apparently my parents hadn't hit the 'on' switch inside the portal before hitting the external activation button. I accidentally put my hand on it while I was looking around and the portal turned on and opened at the same time. I got shocked when it turned on and blasted with ectoplasm as the gate opened. The next thing I knew I was waking up on the floor in the lab and I dragged myself to a mirror. I saw a boy with green eyes, white hair, and a jumpsuit staring at me and panicked, thinking I'd let a ghost out…"

"But it was you," Sam shook her head, amazed at the story, "How long did it take you to figure it out?"

"A couple of seconds because I realized I was looking in a mirror and it was imitating me a little too well to be anything else besides my reflection," he laughed, "I think the weirdest part was how it inverted my colors. My hair went from black to white, and so did the black gloves and boots I was wearing. The jumpsuit was originally white too, so it turned black obviously."

"Wow," Sam finally stopped moving and sat heavily beside her friend again, "So you've been a…halfa for two years now and no one has found out or realized except me?"

"Well, I told Tuck straight off the bat, then Jazz found out halfway into my freshman year," Danny shrugged, glad that he'd told her and she was accepting it without too many questions, "No one else knows though…well, except for the ghosts, they've all seen me change. They never say anything though, like it's some sort of code that you're not supposed to reveal secret identities or something…"

"Does the other hafla, Vlad know?"

"Yeah, he's Plasmius, that one vampire looking ghost I fight a lot," he smiled as she nodded in recognition and waited for him to continue, "He had a crush on my Mom and hated my Dad. He knows who I am, but since I know who he is we just never say anything…it's that secret code thing again."

A silence fell over the pair as Sam sat and absorbed the huge amount of information given to her. Danny sat beside her quietly, reviewing his life over the past two years and feeling lighter for Sam knowing, for not having to hide things from her any longer. Maybe, just maybe, this would work like Tucker and Jazz thought it would.

"I really am sorry," he suddenly felt so contrite and stupid for the fight they'd had the night before, "I didn't mean anything I said, you aren't stupid and curiosity isn't a bad thing. You're not freaky, or weird, and I like you in black…it works for you. Just like red and white do, but that's another story."

His slight teasing at the end of his apology felt Sam feeling twenty times better as she knew her friendship was still there, if not a little strained at the moment. All relationships, from those between friends, to those between family, to those between lovers had their ups and downs. One fight wasn't enough to ruin what had been developing between them and Sam smiled at the boy who was trying so hard to make things right again.

"Apology accepted," Sam smirked, then closed her eyes as Danny had done earlier, "but you can't reveal some life altering secret every time we get in a fight. It just isn't practical and you'll run out sooner or later."

Danny's laughter rang off her walls, until he slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide with fear that he'd woken someone.

"Don't worry," Sam joked, "My parents sleep…like the dead."

"Oh ha ha, Sam," Danny rolled his eyes as he pouted, much to Sam's pleasure, "Now I have to take the lame cracks from Tuck _and_ you. Great."

The next hour was spent in a slow, but detailed explanation of several of Danny's most common enemies, who he considered allies, who he wasn't sure about, and who was just annoying. Sam stopped him several times with her laughter, though he wasn't bothered. He was enjoying every second spent with her, making him wonder at just how much he'd come to like her, 'I wonder if she…no, she doesn't. I mean, it's weird enough that I'm two different people in one in her eyes…'

The sun had just started to creep up when Sam's door, which she had unlocked at some point last night creaked open and Sam was staring wide eyed up at her parents, who were wishing her good morning, and saying how glad they were that she was already up for the beautiful day with her curtains actually opened for once. Sam looked around wildly to find herself alone, then mentally smacked herself, 'Of course Danny's not here. Ghost powers Sam, try to keep up…'

"I'll finish getting dressed in a little while," Sam smiled, then thought over something for a second as she was already in the clothes she had worn yesterday, "but I think I'm eating breakfast at school today. Big, erm, social event, like a breakfast get together, so I should probably go."

"Oh wonderful darling," her mother clasped her hands as she nodded her approval, "That is an excellent way to make contacts in the world, and you should do well to remember that you're never too young to have contacts."

"We'll let you get ready sweetie," her father backed towards the door and pulled the door to after his wife had exited, "Oh, and remember to keep your television down this early. Your mother and I swore we heard people talking in here, instead of it being on the stereo."

"Of course, Dad," Sam smiled tightly, flakily at her father, wincing as she heard a quiet chuckle from the far corner of her room, "I'll remember next time…if there is a next time."

The older man closed his daughter's door, wondering at the threatening tone her voice had taken at the last of her statement. He simply shrugged and went on his way though, knowing how different his child could be at times. Meanwhile, back in the room, Danny was having a fit as he tried to stay quiet while Sam threw a pillow at him again, though this time it was all in good fun.

"You're face," Danny's body melted back into view and held Sam's rapt attention as it did so, "was…priceless? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You can do ghostly things as a human?" she looked him over, completely amazed by what she had seen, and it took a second for Danny to realize how strange it must seem to Sam. She hadn't had the luxury of being there when he discovered his powers one at a time as Tucker, and then Jazz, had.

"Yeah," he moved over to her and put one finger to her arm and concentrated, making it disappear and making Sam gasp at the feeling of cold, though she didn't jerk away, "I can go intangible, invisible, shoot ectoplasmic blasts and fly. I can make other people do all that with the exception of channeling energy. I do my fighting as Phantom, though, because it's a little easier and I don't have to concentrate quite as hard."

"That's amazing," Sam's brow wrinkled in a cute confusion as she looked at where her arm was supposed to be, but wasn't, "So my arm's invisible?"

"Yep, or," the pins and needles feeling ran over her arm, battling with the cold for dominance, "it can be both."

Sam finally pulled her arm away and watched as it came back into view. She was fascinated that her friend had such amazing abilities and such easy control, though she didn't doubt that his control had been hard won. He was smiling gently as she looked back to him, and a blush spread over his cheeks as she caught him watching her.

"Do you need to get ready for school?" Danny had backed up a step and glanced around her room, his eyes lighting on a clock, "It's already five thirty."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Sam shrugged, "I might as well just wear what I have on and go to school early. I'm not going to get any sleep anytime soon anyways."

"I'll wait outside," he floated to his feet, moving for the window before he was caught by the foot again by Sam.

"It's fine, you can wait in here. I'm not changing or anything," she picked up a hair brush and moved towards her door, "I'm gonna' brush my teeth and hair, and I'll be right back. You can play on the computer if you want."

"'Kay," she heard as she closed the door and headed for the bathroom. It was barely morning and already today was one of the best days she'd had in a while. It didn't hit her that Danny had the same clothes on as the day before until she glanced at herself in the mirror.

'Well, at least the rumor mills with have something to talk about,' Sam raised her eyebrows, then blushed as she thought a little more on exactly _what _the rumors would end up being about, 'That should be interesting…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Wow,' Danny had spent the last five minutes thinking that word over and over as he explored the room of Sam Manson, finding wonder after wondering and coming to the startling realization that she hadn't been lying when she'd told him, as Phantom, that she was filthy rich, 'Brand new, giant stereo, LCD wide screen plasma TV, every CD I can think of, brand new computer, giant bed…wait, not thinking about that part.'

He sat heavily in her comfortable computer chair and spun slowly while looking around her lushly decorated room, taking in the heavy curtains and the anime posters on her wall, and pondering just how her family had so much money, 'Mob? Nah, her parents are too preppy. Maybe a really good investment or something.'

He gently fingered a tiny key chain of himself as Phantom hanging from the switch to one of her desk laps, a wry grin and a raised eyebrow appearing on his face as he gently unhooked the key chain from where it hung swinging. It didn't look as though it had ever been used, and it probably had stayed where Sam had hung it whenever she had gotten it, 'But did someone get it for her, or did she buy it?'

"Oh, that," Sam had apparently gotten back and he heard the door click shut behind him. A wicked grin was on his lips as he held up the tiny figure and gave it a spin with a finger, "My Grandma bought it for me, since she knew I was interested in ghosts."

"You like ghosts?" his impertinent question followed by the outrageously large wink, much like Tucker had done to her at one time, had Sam rolling her eyes even as she blushed, She walked up to the idiotically grinning boy and snatched it from his hand.

"Yes, I like ghosts," Sam glanced around her room, "If you haven't noticed, I like dark, spooky things. Ghosts fall under that category nicely, and I've always been interested in them, even before all the ghost stuff started happening here."

"Sam likes ghosts," Danny teased as he darted up to grab the little key chain back from her, "Sam likes ghosts…"

"Stuff it Danny," Sam grabbed her backpack, and headed for the door, "I'll meet you downstairs, if you want, and we can walk to school."

"We could fly," Danny suggested with a shrug, trying to act as nonchalant as possible about the suggestion, though he was nervously awaiting her answer and hoping it would be yes, "If you want. Then we could really get breakfast at school."

"Flying is…nice," Sam nodded, then opened her door and poked her head out for a quick check, "I'll meet you downstairs."

"See ya' there," Danny threw her a mock salute and then was gone, to be found by Sam standing outside and waiting for her, just as she had asked. He snuck a glance around, grabbed her hand and made her transparent, then pulled her up into the air with him, enjoying her laughter as he started off towards the school, glad that everything was working out so well between them, 'I'll have to remember to be nice to Jazz for a couple of days…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Danny set Sam down gently before lowering himself as well into an alley a block or so from school and changing back into Fenton. They'd already made a quick side trip to his house for him to sneakily snatch his satchel, "Well, we'll have to walk from here, because it's kind of hard to find convenient places to land and transform."

"Doesn't bother me," Sam pulled her backpack strap off from one shoulder and walked with the bag hanging from her right shoulder only, "I usually walk the whole way, so it's a nice break."

"Glad to help," Danny laughed and they started on their way, chatting about an upcoming assignment in the history class they shared, though they were in different class periods. After their short walk and short conversation, Danny felt unsure of what else to talk about. It was usually easy to talk to Sam, but he felt strange talking with her now. They'd just had a huge fight and subsequent make up and he felt like he could only push his luck so far before he'd stick his foot in his mouth again.

Sam talked to him as they headed to the cafeteria, as they stood in line for a breakfast, and as they headed over to the normal table that they always sat at, though it seemed to be inane chatter as opposed to the normal, interesting conversation Sam always started.

Nothing political, nothing controversial, not even her normal protest over him getting something with meat in it. It appeared that she, as well, was walking on eggshells after the tentative calm they'd built up after their fight. It wasn't until Sam poked his hand with her fork that he realized he'd been staring at the cup of cream cheese he'd grabbed to put on the bagel he bought.

"The cream cheese can't possibly be that interesting Danny," Sam grinned as she drew her fork back, glad that she'd finally gotten his attention, though she was a little worried over his sudden funk, "What's up?"

"Just thinking," the halfa before her, as she now currently reminded herself, shrugged and made a halfhearted attempt at the eggs on his plate, "You're going to get into a lot of…stuff, now that you know."

"Stuff?" she asked, hoping he'd explain, but when he just looked at her pointedly with raised eyebrows, Sam began to get the feeling that they were speaking in code, 'Which is probably smart since no one knows…and it's easy to overhear in school.'

"Stuff," Sam nodded to herself after pause, then sheepishly shot Danny a tiny smile, "That's part of why you were so upset with me…figuring it out. Because I was trying to talk to you about it here at school, where anyone could overhear?"

"Yeah," Danny admitted, slightly sheepish about the whole debacle himself, "I should have just told you we could talk about it later instead of running off. Sorry about that."

"We really need to stop saying we're sorry," Sam laughed as she enjoyed her donut, "Here; I'm sorry for whatever I've done the past couple of days that have made you upset, angry, suspicious, or sad. Good enough?"

"I'm sorry for making you upset, angry, and sad," Danny laughed as he leaned back and took a bite of bacon, smirking as Sam wrinkled her nose in disgust, "but not for making you suspicious. I'm glad you found out. It'll make my life a lot easier, and probably make your life more confusing."

"Well, I always wanted my life to be a little less boring," Sam smiled back, unknowingly giving Danny the answer he desperately needed to hear, "I don't mind a little danger and excitement if it means helping my friend."

A smile bloomed on his face as he nodded once and started eating again. Sam smiled as well, glad to have somehow made the halfa's life a little easier. It was definitely going to be a good day in her book, and hopefully in Danny's as well. Sam smiled at her donut, then took another bite, well pleased that two of her favorite friends were actually one in the same.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Danny, dude, where have you been?" Tucker fought the urge to stand up and hit the other boy across the back of the head. It would probably be a bad idea as they were at lunch though, "And why are you wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday?"

"Long night," Danny replied, but instead of sounding tired, the halfa sounded strangely refreshed, and instead of the normal grimace or frown, Tucker found a smile on his lips. Narrowing his eyes, Tucker looked over Danny carefully as he sat with his tray, wondering if anything had overshadowed him or caused him to act so strangely the past few days. Danny looked curiously back at Tucker, "What? Stop looking at me like that, you weirdo."

"Okay, not possessed," Tucker lowered his head for a second to think, then looked up to find Sam sitting down next to Danny, "And why are you wearing the same clothes…wait, oh no. No, that's just not right guys…mental images!"

"Tuck," Sam sounded embarrassed and horrified, "Calm down, we didn't do anything."

"That's so not what it looks like, young lady," Tucker shot back, laughing silently the entire time as Sam blushed and Danny looked like he might reach over and hit his best friend, "Danny's hair is awfully messed up and both of you are wearing yesterday's clothes."

"We had a fight," Sam rolled her eyes, then mock stuck out her tongue as Tucker took a huge bite of ham, "Ugh. Anyways, we had that fight yesterday, which you knew about. Danny came over that night, came into my room, and proceeded to stick his foot in his mouth so badly that I kicked him out. There was also a lot of name calling and really horrible things said."

"In your room?" Tucker looked over to Danny to see him blushing slightly with a pained smile on his face, "I take it the secret you asked me about is now safe with you too?"

"Something like that," Sam glared slightly at Danny, "but then he went and put me through emotional turmoil, which kept me up all night, hence the clothes that I wore yesterday."

"Emotional turmoil," Tucker shook his head, slightly confused, but understanding that Sam was now in on Danny's double life, "Right."

"I went back and apologized," Danny poked at his food, before shrugging and digging in, "It was pretty funny, I tapped on her window and she fell off her window seat, then popped her head back up to see who was tapping at her third story window…like it could be so many other people."

"If I remember correctly," Sam sent another acidic glare Danny's way, ignoring Tucker in favor of getting a jibe in against the young man, "You had your face plastered against my window to check if I was okay. You looked like a bug that slammed into a windshield."

"Nice one," Tucker offered a high five to Sam, who reciprocated, then joined her in laughing as Danny pouted, "So the two of you made up and are friends again, Sam knows, Danny's hopefully okay with it, and we can be a happy group of friends again, right?"

"Right," Danny answered as he carefully pulled his spoon back and took aim, "Hey Tucker."

"What?"

"Pea fight."

"Stupid boys…no, not down the back of my shirt! Danny, I'm gonna' kill you!"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Come on Sam, go with us…"

The boys were once again trying their hardest, by way of whining, to convince their only close female friend to accompany them to eat at the Nasty Burger. Danny was looking adorable with his big, blue puppy dog eyes, followed closely in second place by Tucker, who was actually managing to fake tears and begging her with his hat in his hands. They were quite the pair walking down the hall with her, but Sam managed to ignore them for the most part until Tucker decided to take the begging to the next level.

"Please go with us?" he hit his knees as Sam stopped at her locker, hands clasped around his hat in front of his chest as he beseeched the girl, "You haven't gone with us in ages and it's sooooo boring with only Danny."

"Tuck," Sam grabbed him by the shirt and tried to bodily lift him, "Get up, people are staring at you."

"Since when have you cared about people staring?" Danny laughed as he shut her locker.

"Since people started whistling and telling Tucker to look up my skirt," the girl ground out, then saw Danny's face light up, his eyes twinkling, "No, Danny, whatever you're thinking I forbid it."

"Wow, she's already forbidding you to do stuff," Tucker laughed as Sam hit him over the head with a book, which was made far simpler by him being on his knees, "You two should just get married and get it over with."

"Tucker," Sam growled out before she found arms wrapped around her waist in a backwards hug, capturing her arms under his own, and she froze. Danny had grabbed her from behind and was now laughing against her back as she struggled unsuccessfully to pull out of his hold, "Danny let go."

"Can't," he gasped out, still laughing as he let his head drop against her shoulder blades, "Not until you say you're going to come with us."

"Danny Fenton, I take back whatever nice things I've ever said about you, take back my apology," Sam took a deep breath, ducked, and pushed her arms out, effectively slipping away from Danny's hold, "and I take back nearly giving in to go with you guys."

"Aw, Sam!" both boys complained at the same time, Tucker standing up in a rush and jamming his hat back on his head, "You have to go…a celebration of you and Danny no longer fighting…or of finding out his biggest secret or something."

"I'm supposed to be getting home," Sam pushed the doors open herself before Danny could get to them and stepped outside, the two boys hot on her heels, "and I really need to start working on the history report due next week."

"So do I, but you don't see me worrying about it," Danny got out, then pointed to Tucker, "Same with Tuck. You've got plenty of time to do it."

"Well…," Sam looked between the two boys, grinning slightly as she rolled her eyes and reveled in the playful mood they had created, "I don't know."

"I still owe you a strawberry soy milkshake," Danny snapped his fingers suddenly, a grin spreading across his face as he pointed at her with a pout, "You said you'd take a rain check on it, so that means you have to go."

"Alright," Sam finally gave in, then held a hand over her eyes as Tucker and Danny whooped, exchanged a high and low five, did a little dance around her still form, and finished by putting a hand each on one of her shoulders, propelling her forward between them. Tucker and Danny looked over Sam's bowed head and smiled, "To the Nasty Burger!"

It was a most delightful strawberry soy milkshake indeed.


	17. Articulate

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Um…only one chapter today, and I'm very sorry about that dears! I just hope you enjoy!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Seventeen: Articulate  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Since when do you have key chains Sam?"

Tucker gently tugged on the back of her backpack, wondering just what possessed her to put a Danny Phantom key chain on one of her zippers and if Danny knew what paraphernalia Sam was packing, 'That would sure get him to blush, maybe I can get to him before Sam covers up the scandal…Oh yes, the blushes will be many between those two by the time I'm done with them.'

"Key chains?" Sam turned and tried to see what Tucker had gently held in his hands that was attached to her backpack, "I don't have any key chains, the only key chain I even own is…is supposed to be in my room."

"Or maybe it's a Danny Phantom key chain?"

"Oh, I am going to kill him," Sam jerked her backpack off and pulled the key chain off as quickly as she could before stuffing down and into her backpack's front pocket. She was blushing hard as she glanced around hoping that no one had seen or noticed the small replica of the local hero, "First I'll scratch out his eyes, then I'll ask he very sweetly if he wants this stupid little toy shoved up his nose."

"Whoa there," Tucker grabbed the smaller girl and swung her around as she tried to march away from her locker over towards where Danny was standing at his own, "I don't think you want to kill him…or scar or scare him beyond reason with your detailed thoughts of torture."

"No, that's exactly what I want, so let me go Tuck," she folded her arms and tried not to laugh as the much taller boy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and securely held her where she was, "I won't kill him…much."

"Kill much of him, and there won't be anything left," Tucker joked as he slowly began walking towards where Danny stood watching in confusion, and not a little jealousy that Tucker had Sam so securely tucked against his side, "Now, do you promise to play nice?"

"Not really," Sam finally shrugged Tucker off and walked up to her other friend, "Care to explain how a certain key chain got on my backpack?"

"Oh," Danny reached around Sam and started to walk off with an arm over her shoulders, though his hand was conspicuously absent from the opposite shoulder, "You mean this key chain?"

The little key chain was dangling innocently between Danny's fingers as he withdrew his hand to hold in front of Sam's eyes, her mind reeling for a second before she finally caught up with herself and remembered exactly who Danny was and what he could do. He leaned over to whisper in her ear and she almost forgot that they were in the hallway at school, "Would you believe me if I said I could do magic?"

"Probably not," Sam raised and tilted her head away from Danny's lips, which felt dangerously close to her ear, "though I would believe you if you said you liked to try to charm people, and I would believe that you had something to do with your little…friend finding his way on my backpack."

Tucker cracked up laughing at Sam's choice of words and Sam wasn't sure what she had done or said to instigate it. Danny's blush and subsequent glare at Tucker let her know that something had happened, though she wasn't sure if she even _wanted_ to know. The girl shook her head and started away when a funny clinking sound made her pause. She'd been hearing it all morning and had no clue where it had been coming from, but she put two and two together and pulled her backpack back around to her front, glaring down at the innocent little key chain that was attached to her backpack all over again.

"Danny," Sam turned around slowly to see Danny grinning like a fool and Tucker laughing all over again at Sam's burning glare, "You are seriously going to get it as soon as I can figure out how."

She turned back and as soon as she did a smile spread over her face, growing a bit larger as the little clinking sound followed her down the hall. Danny obviously didn't mind if she wore his effigy on her backpack, so who was she to argue?

'Besides,' Sam glanced down lovingly at the small figure as she finally sat at her desk, enjoying the peace that came right before first period started, 'He is kinda' cute.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Tuck, I need to talk to you," Danny wasn't sure what he was doing, but he did know he was in for a big bout of teasing after it was done. Tucker could be trusted to be serious up to a point, but after the pre-allotted time was over, he'd let loose on whoever was trying to talk with him and either crack a joke or tease mercilessly.

"What's up man?" he watched as Danny glanced around the cafeteria, scanning it carefully for who knew what. He looked nervous and slightly on edge, but with a smile hovering around his eyes and mouth as though he were excited about something. In all, it made Tucker rather curious as to what was going on in Danny's mind.

"Um, I think I have a problem, but only if you feel the same way that I do about a certain person, which might make a huge mess and I really don't want another fight to happen again."

"Right," Tucker paused in the eating of his lunch to stare hard at his friend, "So you like a girl and think I like her too? That's what that nonsense was about, right?"

"Yeah," Danny lowered his head, hoping that this didn't turn into another argument with a good friend over something trivial, "So…"

"So I don't like Sam like that, so no worries," Tucker shrugged his shoulder as he took another bite, chewing thoughtfully as he watched Danny's lowered face blush slightly, "She's like a little sister to me though, so I'll have to beat the crap out of you if you hurt her."

"Am I that obvious?" Danny leaned his chair back to stare up at the tiled ceiling, glad that Sam was a bit later than usual to lunch for once, and hoping that his luck would hold and Tucker would be serious for a bit longer.

"Nah," Tucker took a quick swig from his soda, then took another bite to chew on thoughtfully, "I tried to tell her you liked her the other day, but she didn't believe me. You might was to make it a little more obvious man."

"You tried to tell her _what_?" the halfa's head jerked forward and one of his hands hit the table palm down, and though it wasn't very hard, the sound caused a few people to turn their heads and make Danny's blush worsen, "Man, how'd you even know?"

"For one thing, I'm your best friend, of course I'd know," Tucker proudly, not to mention smugly, smirked in Danny's direction, before picking an imaginary piece of lint off one of his sleeves and dropping it over the edge of the table with a disgusted face, "For another, you sister told me that you told her."

"What are you even doing talking with Jazz?" Danny shot back, his own brotherly inclinations coming to the forefront, "And catching a ride home with her, for that matter?"

"Oh, heh, you saw that huh?" Tucker nervously swallowed and sank down in his seat a bit, knowing that the tables had turned and hoping that God would intervene and save him, "Well, see…"

"Hey guys," Sam's sudden arrival surprised them both, though Tucker was beyond relieved to have gotten out of a certain talk with Danny.

"An angel? Thank you God! You really are good to me for sending her," Tucker laughed a little hysterically, the glare from Danny and Sam's confused amusement not going unnoticed, "Great timing…"

"An angel," Sam looked down at her self, some sarcastic remark about to pop out before Danny took Tucker's advice and began to turn on the charm. He just hoped it would work on Sam, as she didn't normally go for the flirty type of guy.

"Sure," Danny smiled as he munched on a French fry filched from Tucker's tray, "You might be dressed in black, but you don't really fool anyone Sam."

Tucker's casual flirting had become something that Sam accepted. It had been a teasing sort of affection from day one, and turned into a daily pick me up that she looked forward to. Yes, she thought of him as a brother, but he truly, and obviously, wasn't related to her, and so she took some small enjoyment from the fact that a boy would call her pretty or other such things. It was different coming from Danny, though, and she was blushing as soon as the words had left his lips…which Sam's eyes had locked on for some reason.

"Nice one," Tucker congratulated Danny, giving a thumbs up to him in approval and truly enjoying the little scene going on in front of him, 'It's like first row seats at a really good play. It's got romance, action, drama, humor, and danger all in one, and a sci-fi element to boot. If I could just figure out how to sell tickets and popcorn I'd be set for life.'

"Is Tucker drooling?" Sam looked carefully over the young man across from her, waving a hand in front of his face to check if he was still with them, "And why is he mumbling about tickets and romance?"

"I don't know," Danny shook his head, wondering what Tucker could possibly be thinking, then quickly dismissed any thought that popped into his head, "I really don't think I want to know."

"Me either," Sam smiled at her strange friend, then tugged at Danny's sleeve to get his attention, "How come you put that key chain back on my backpack earlier?"

"Oh well," a hand found it's way to the boy's neck, and the usual nervous gesture of rubbing took over from there for a few seconds before he lamely brought his hand back down and made a general wave-like gesture, "He looked…lonely. I couldn't just leave him hanging out on your desk and collecting dust. I mean, your grandma did buy him for you to use."

"Okay, but that was the first time," Sam reminded him, pulling her backpack up to show the smiling Phantom dangling from one of the zippers, "Why'd you do it the second time this morning?"

"He liked it there," Danny nodded with a smirk on his face, then turned his head slightly, "I mean, he was getting to see the world and hang out with a beautiful girl. What more could a guy ask for?"

"Right," Sam blushed again, wondering over the sudden change in Danny, 'He's acting like Tucker…or like he likes me. I don't get the feeling he's just playing like Tucker does, but I could be wrong.'

"I'm just messing with you Sam," Danny nudged her gently with a laugh, though he didn't pull away immediately, "You can take the key chain off if you want to."

"No, it's fine," she nudged him back, enjoying their talk as Tucker continued to eat and be lost in his own little world of tickets and romance, whatever that might mean, "I kinda' like the little guy. I think he's…cute."

Sam had timed her last word just right, her own form of revenge playing out as Danny took a sip of soda just as she said 'cute'. The spray of soda was rather impressive and for some reason it looked slushy, as though frozen, as it fell to the table top. It had thankfully missed Tucker as Danny had turned his head slightly when he took his sip.

"I uh, I need to go," Danny glanced between Sam and the semi-frozen soda and left the cafeteria, quickly disposing of his tray and trash before he left, leaving Sam sitting at the table wondering if she'd done something wrong. Napkins were quickly laid across the mess by Tucker, who had finally left his self induced stupor to clean up the soda as Danny fled.

"What happened?" Sam asked as she pitched in and started to clean as well, her hands cold as she cleaned up frozen soda and realized that his ghostly ability had somehow come into play, "Why'd he…you know, the soda?"

"If you're asking why he sprayed it all over the table I'd have to get your head checked," Tucker teased as he piled the napkins on his nearly empty tray, smiling as Sam blushed, "but I think your head is fine and you were just messing with his."

"Yeah, I was teasing him to get back at him for this morning," Sam saw Tucker's blank stare and rushed to explain, "When he put the key chain on my backpack? Remember?"

"Right, right," Tucker nodded, then thought over what had happened and his earlier conversation with Danny before Sam had shown up, "Well, the thing is, Danny isn't perfect."

"That had better not be all the explanation I get about this," Sam waved a hand over the pile of damp napkins where the soda continued to melt, "What happened?"

"He looses control sometimes," Tucker lowered his voice and leaned in as Sam did the same, a hurried explanation given across the table top, "When he first got his powers he couldn't control them at all and would fall through his desk, or loose his arm, or even sink halfway into the floor. That's why everyone thinks he's so clumsy most of the time."

Sam nodded her understanding, and wondered how Danny had even managed to survive those first few months without going insane.

"We worked forever so he could get control over what was happening, but we started to notice that when he got too nervous or embarrassed about something his powers would go on the fritz," Tucker took a second to check his surroundings and make sure no one was listening in. Satisfied, he continued his story, "So, say a pretty girl would walk by and smile in his direction, Danny might loose his pants, getting him in trouble all the time with Lancer. He's gotten better control of it now, but if he's not careful, he still slips up."

"So I didn't make him lose his pants," Sam raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what it all meant in light of what she had been teasing him about, "but I did make him spit ice out of his mouth. That's encouraging."

"Encouraging for what?" Tucker asked knowingly, his own eyebrow raised to mirror Sam's even as he began to speculate on what it could mean, or why it happened, "It takes a lot for him to loose control now a days, and usually embarrassment doesn't do it to him. Strong emotions, usually like anger, or something that gets him really riled up will do it. He might have been nervous and didn't know how to react to what you said."

"But why ice?" Sam shot back, leaning in a bit closer as they spoke in a conspiratorial fashion over their trays, "Why not just loose an arm or fall through the seat or something?"

"Because he just learned he had an ice power a few months ago, and even though he's mastered it, he still slips up," the other boy was glad to have someone to talk to at school about these things, enjoying the conversation about Danny and gladly bringing Sam up to speed, "It's only normal, and since no one is perfect…"

"Danny's control can slip too," Sam filled in the blank, then blushed as she realized she'd been the one to make him loose that delicate control he maintained over his powers, "Do you think I should apologize?"

"Maybe just for making him spit ice all over the table," Tucker laughed a little then leaned back, eyeing Sam carefully, "but you definitely shouldn't apologize for calling him cute if you think it's true. He probably enjoyed that more than you know."

Sam was left to finish her meal with a blush, all while Tucker started to discuss getting a new phone with her. The one she had was top of the line and she let the techno-whiz play with it, handing it over for the rest of the day in exchange for silence about their earlier conversation. Tucker, of course, agreed instantly, though he doubted he'd need to say anything.

He figured if the two of them weren't together by the end of the school year, he was loosing his touch.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey," Danny walked into detention, his slightly miserable day getting slightly worse, or better, depending on the way you looked at it, as he spotted Sam already in her chair in the detention room, "You too?"

"Not really," she closed a new book on her desk, only a few pages into the story and not really minding the interruption, "I just wanted to catch you before you had to languish for an hour by yourself."

"Thanks," Danny sunk into his seat, not knowing what to say to her about what had happened at lunch, "Listen, about lunch…"

"I'm sorry," they both got out at about the same time, then both chuckled slightly at the double apology.

"Why are you sorry Sam?" Danny frowned slightly, trying to figure out if Sam was apologizing for what she had caused or what she had said, "I'm the one who left you guys with a mess to clean up. I bet Tuck was a pain in the butt about it too."

"Not really," Sam smiled, then began to pack up her book, "He explained a couple of things about…you. I'm not going to apologize for teasing you, Danny, because you were teasing me the same way. I'm just sorry that I made you spit out your soda in an interesting way."

"Yeah, about that," the boy cleared his throat and got ready to make an admission about why he was in detention, "Um, the reason I'm in detention is because I got to thinking about what you had said when I was in the hall, and Lancer walked by with a couple of parents and I blushed 'cause I had been thinking out loud, and um…"

"You're in detention again because…?" Sam tried to help Danny out, but the blush on his cheeks worsened and he sank further in his chair as Lancer chose to open the door and join them.

"Manson, out," he held onto the door sternly, upset that Danny was yet again in his presence for something so offensive, "Danny will be done as soon as he writes a three page paper on why it is against school policy, not to mention illegal, to drop one's pants in the middle of a hall, especially when parents are present!"

"So that's what you did," Sam tried not to laugh as Danny sank even further down, his back flat against the seat bottom as he supported himself with his legs, "See ya' around."

A mumbled reply sent her on her way with a smile, her thoughts focusing more on the fact that she had gotten more of a reaction than just ice out of Danny after all.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Sam and Tucker were both standing at his locker when he finally got out of detention an hour later, his three pages being worked down to one, double sided, with much cajoling and a quickly created explanation about lacking a belt that morning and loose pants. Needless to say, Lancer had eventually given in, understanding that three pages might be a bit much, and Danny had honestly been embarrassed and very apologetic.

"Thanks for waiting guys," Danny sluggishly walked to his locker, opening it with little regard to Tucker, who was standing right behind it and almost got a smack on the nose, "I'm sure the teasing can start anytime now."

"Nah," Tucker waved him off, turning to walk to the safer side of the locker where Sam stood, "besides I've been threatened. Sam's a pretty good friend."

"One of the best," Danny mumbled more into his locker than to his friends, but they both heard anyways, "So, what's the plan for this afternoon? Sam, you're still here so you either felt so sorry for me you stayed or you didn't have to get home right after school."

"Actually, it's both," Sam smiled prettily, then moved over as Danny shuffled several things around in his locker and pulled out another shirt. The front of his favorite white one was covered in soda droplets, and he felt like getting rid of the reminder of his rather embarrassing afternoon.

"Tuck, hold this for me will you?" his backpack was tossed to the other boy, who happily obliged, then Danny peeled off his shirt, glancing around to make sure no one was there to catch him being 'indecently exposed' again…

"Danny!"

…with the exception of his friend, who happened to be a girl, and who apparently didn't appreciate the fact that he didn't warn her he was changing. She was rather red, he noticed, and Sam's eyes were glued to his shirtless form. With a wink, he flexed ever so slightly, Sam whirled around and folded her arms, and Tucker shook his head as he shook silently with laughter.

"Put your shirt on," Sam's demand was pitched low in anger, though did he detect something else perhaps?

"Yeah, Danny, better hurry and put your shirt on before she jumps you," Tucker leaned back against the locker and poked Sam on her shoulder, daring to wink at her as well, "You like it when guys strip for you, just admit it."

"I can't believe you two," Sam wanted to hit her two boys, but refrained, figuring it might be better to just ignore them for the most part, "Are we ever going to the Nasty Burger?"

"To the Nasty Burger!" the call was immediately taken up and Sam was swept forward even as Danny was pulling his shirt over his head, making Sam's cooling blush heat again. She felt as though she'd never blushed so much in her life as she had since becoming friends with Danny and Tucker. It was beginning to take a toll on her mental health.

"So, Sam," Danny had slowed his walk slightly when Tucker sent his trademark smile to a girl further along the sidewalk and hurried to catch her up and chat, "_Did_ you like what you saw, you know, out of curiosity? I've never gotten a girl's opinion before."

"Danny," she shot him a funny look, not entirely sure she was comfortable with his playful tone and odd questions, "You had a girlfriend…you never…asked her?"

'Ask Valerie, right…,' the halfa tried not to roll his eyes, "We went out for a year, but all we did was kiss. For one thing, I was too busy trying to stay alive for most of the time, and for another…I never, I dunno'…I never felt comfortable with her with…other stuff. We just didn't click."

"I never thought I'd hear that from a boy. I'm impressed," Sam enjoyed the slower pace as they walked together down the sidewalk, thinking over his admission, "Usually hormones rage and guys blame it on that."

"Yeah, well," the boy took a deep breath, reveling in such a beautiful afternoon, "Saving the world a couple of times makes you either want to…get it all at once, or take your time and really make everything worthwhile. Guess I was just the type to want things to go slow…weird for a guy, I know."

"I think that's fine," Sam grinned, then moved slightly closer to Danny's side to whisper to him what he'd originally wanted to know, "And I think I did like what I saw. You're pretty well built, but not too muscular like some of the jocks are. You're wiry."

"Wiry, right, that's good I think," Danny nodded, then started to build up his courage, hoping that all the playful talk of the afternoon would help keep his foot out of his mouth by pushing away the nervousness, "Glad that you could give me an honest opinion."

"I try," she turned her smile to him, and he felt his mouth run a little dry, but decided to push on anyways.

"You're a good friend," he pulled up short, as Tucker and the girl had in front of them, not wanting to intrude on his friend's moment, "You know, Sam, you're probably one of my best friends. You and Tucker, I mean."

He'd lost it, lost the moment, the momentum, and his nerve, 'Great, perfect, bring Tucker up…'

"Really?"

'Okay, so maybe saying that was a good thing,' Danny had never seen Sam's smile brighter, and returned it in kind, happy that Sam was happy, "Yeah, best friends."

"You know," Sam let her eyes roll up to the sky, ready to get one more jab in for the afternoon, "You're probably my best friend too, well right after my other friend."

"Who, Tucker?"

"No," Sam pulled her backpack around, gently holding the key chain in her hand as she smiled lovingly down at it as she did that morning in class, "This little guy…he was just so lonely, you know? And he has the most interesting life story you've ever heard. He could seriously make some money talking about it."

"Right," Danny rolled his eyes, laughing at Sam's joking tone, "Whatever you say Sam."

"Whatever I say?" she asked him, prettily batting her eyes as she spun in front of him to block his view of Tucker and the girl. She enjoyed seeing his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed nervously, not used to her confronting him in such a coquettish manner.

"Um, sure," Danny tilted his head, slightly wondering what she was going to trick him into, but not really caring at all.

"Then I say, to the Nasty Burger, and let's save Tucker before he gets slapped," Sam spun back around and swept off towards Tucker, before turning back slightly to laugh at Danny's bewildered face, "Come on, newly titled best friend, whom has been an acquaintance and normal friend up until the moment of tortured confession."

"Tortured confession?" Danny caught up to Sam with a laugh, then winced as both heard the sharp ring of a hand meeting a cheek, "Guess we didn't catch up soon enough. Oh well, to the Nasty Burger anyways so we can soothe his bruised ego?"

"Sounds like a plan Danny," the pair started walking, and caught Tucker's arms, one on each side to drag him along with them, "Strawberry soy milkshakes are usually the best cure."

"And meat," Tucker rubbed his cheek as he was dragged along, "Lots of burgers piled with meat."

The laughter from one very happy girl and one very happy halfa rang through the afternoon and soon Tucker joined them as well, his failed foray into the dating scene all but forgotten as three best friends enjoyed their time together.


	18. Pillow Talk

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Super long chapter, yay! This one is the longest so far, and I think it's going to be the longest out of all of them…oh well.  
It's posted early because Chaos Dragon tried to bribe me, lol...unfortunately, **_I'm heading to camp this weekend, so we won't be getting very many updates after this._**

I'm terribly sorry that I won't be posting as much, but life comes first, and I have a job to do.  
**I might get a chapter every two weeks, but I'll be working on it all summer, so no worries!  
Go check my profile for more information!****  
**On the bright side, due to the overwhelming response from my wonderful, loving, sweet readers I'll be continuing this story passed the original twenty chapters I had planned!

Love to you all and enjoy your summers, and I'll update every chance I get to do so.

Enjoy you guys!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Eighteen: Pillow Talk  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"There's Sam's," Danny tiredly sunk to the ground right outside her mansion, bracing himself against a tree, "Almost there."

He had to force his tired legs forward, his side aching and a pounding headache from the waning adrenaline in his system making his head ring and flying hard to even think about. As soon as he was below her window, he managed to float up with his hand against the wall for a balance point.

He didn't bother to even knock on her window, as it would have been too long a wait for Sam to get there to see him and invite him in. He didn't know if he had enough energy left to support his flight for too much longer, so instead he slipped through the glass and curtains and sank heavily onto the window seat, hoping that he hadn't woken Sam with the thump he'd sounded or from his labored breathing as he fought to catch his breath in overworked lungs.

Sam did in fact hear something and the strange sound brought her quickly from her sleep. Unusual bumps in the night were far from common in Sam's well kept mansion, and the groan that had followed the odd thump had her far more alert than her senses believed she should be so late at night. Grogginess left her quickly as someone's heavy breathing made it to her ears.

"Who's there?" Sam felt around on her dresser for the lipstick that Tucker had given her a few days back, closing her fingers around it and unsteadily getting up off her bed. She hoped her voice didn't sound as shaky as she felt as she flicked on the lights, "I said, who is there?"

"It's me," Danny got out through another wheezing breath, and quickly showed himself. He didn't want Sam to blast him for being some weirdo in her room, "S-sorry."

"Danny?" the lipstick dropped from her tight hold and Sam was across the room in seconds, pulling Danny up off the window seat and supporting him by pulling one of his arms over her shoulder, her own arm wrapping gently around his waist. She practically had to drag him across to where her bed was, easing him down on a much more comfortable resting place and taking stock of all the various cuts, bruises, and burns that covered his body, "Danny, what happened?"

"Oh, you know," he chuckled and held his ribs as Sam lowered him, wincing as his side was brushed by her hand pulling away from his waist, then bit back a small cry of discomfort as she pulled a ragged edge of his jumpsuit away from a particularly nasty burn on the back of his right shoulder, "a ghost woke me up, and then I found Vlad, and he proceeded to kick my butt all across town for a while. I won though."

He seemed to brighten at the last part and Sam held back a laugh of her own as she continued to peel the material away from his burn. It looked bad, and the rather large first aide kit that one of the serving staff insisted be kept upstairs just in case was suddenly seeming like a very wise idea, "Stay here for a second, okay? I'm going to get some tissues and a first aide kit. Will you be alright?"

"Hey," he caught her hand, smiling through the various pains running through his body to calm her down, "I'm fine, alright? I've been through way worse than this, so don't worry."

'Right, he's not hurt at all,' Sam gave him a pointed look, glanced up and down over his body, then looked him in the eyes again, "Sure. You look peachy keen. I'll be right back with the kit."

Sam hurried out the door on silent feet as Danny took stock of his own injuries. He wasn't too badly hurt, but he had been on the verge of passing out, which would have meant laying in the streets until someone found him or he woke up and made it home, 'Or here. Here was closest and I needed to check on her anyways…'

"Back," Sam gently shut the door and started for him, before pausing and looking back, considering locking her door just in case, 'Nah, they sleep through anything. I'm sure we won't wake anyone up, unless Danny's a wimp about getting cleaned up.'

"Glad you didn't leave," Danny laughed, his hand still clamped over his side where his ribs ached, "I figured one look at me like this and any girl would take off."

"Well then you better be glad I'm not just any girl," Sam teased as she sat beside him and opened the large red and white box, "I'm going to clean off those cuts and burns…I think there's some burn cream in here somewhere…and maybe something for the pain…"

Her hands had started to shake as she dug through the wrappings and bandages and a gloved hand soon covered hers to gently pull her hands away from what they were doing, "Sam. I look bad, but I'm not really hurt bad. Yes, I have some nasty scraps and some bad burns, but I've been through this tons of times."

"I know," Sam shook her head, then wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, though she tried to avoid any of his hurts, "That's what bothers me. You have to fight all the time, Danny, and you get hurt. I never…I never thought of it before. I thought Phantom just…just fought because he was a ghost, and then I got to know him…you. It isn't fair."

"It's alright," the young man hesitantly held the girl in his arms, gently running a gloved hand through her hair, "I do what I have to do, and if getting hurt means I keep the people I care about safe…then that's fine Sam. If you're going to start being all girly and cry on me though, I might have to laugh at you."

His joke lightened Sam's heart a bit and she pulled back, biting back her smile as she halfheartedly glared at the boy, "I don't do girly very often, and this is not one of those rare moments, Danny Phantom, so just keep your ghostly butt right there so I can get something on that burn."

"Yes ma'am," the boy mock saluted, glad that he'd broken her fretful mood. He smiled brightly, then shook an accusing finger in front of her nose, "I don't let just anyone clean me up though, so you'd better be nice to me. Gentle and none of that mean poking that doctors do."

"Whatever," she pushed his finger away, then looked over his jumpsuit, "Um…not to sound perverted, but how do you get that thing off?"

Danny's laugh caught both of them off guard, and Danny closed his eyes as he tried to stop, the shock on Sam's face making it harder than it should have been. Sam's hand plastered itself across his mouth to further shut him up, but as his laughter kept going, Sam realized how stupid a thing she had asked, 'I just thought it would be easier to clean him up if I didn't have to work around his suit!'

"It...it has a zipper Sam, but just one," he managed to get out after a good two minutes of painful laughter, during which he was surprised he didn't collapse from the ache in his side, "You really don't have to clean me up. I just needed somewhere to rest for a little while, and I was pretty close to here. I didn't even want to wake you up, really. I'm sorry I did."

"I'm glad you did," Sam lay a hand on his shoulder, ever mindful of his wounds and as always, amazed by the chill that came off the boy. She'd realized it when she hugged him, and now was aware of the temperature in the room dropping, "Let's get the thermos off first."

"Just be careful with it," Danny's eyes seemed strangely cautious as Sam watched him slip its strapped holder off his back, and handed it over to the girl to set somewhere, 'I have two, very unfriendly ghosts in there…and I doubt you'd like to meet either Sam.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"_Up ghost child, up!" Danny was thrown from his bed as Skulker tipped the boy's mattress up and over, flipping the halfa and all his pillows, sheets, and blankets off onto the floor, "Let the games begin boy, it's no fun to hunt you if you're laying in your bed."_

"_It's not fun to fight you in the middle of the night," the halfa leapt into the air, throwing a ball of energy and transforming at the same time, "Or anytime for that matter. What are you doing here, and could you keep it down? I don't want to wake my parents."_

'_Speaking of parents,' Danny darted out into the hall and down towards the lab with Skulker hot on his heels, both his mother and father quickly after them with several pieces of equipment they slept with in their hands and firing off nets and blasts after the two ghosts. The basement laboratory was Danny aim and all four combatants charged in in a frenzy._

_A glass of water was thrown over everyone's heads suddenly, and Danny's attention was drawn up towards an innocently grinning Jazz who held an empty glass, as well as the all important Fenton Thermos with harness, in her hands, "Oops. I was getting a glass of water and heard a ruckus and…"_

"_I'll take that, thanks," Danny rocketed upwards and snatched the thermos from his sister's hands, thanking her with a wide grin as Skulker followed him up and out, his parents and sister left behind to deal with the clean up, 'Alright, thermos…out of the house…family safe. Check.'_

"_That's right, run little halfa!" a rocket came flying from behind and Danny barely dodge it, throwing up a shield for it to hit before it found a random building to destroy, "Your pelt shall have the place of honor at the foot of my bed, whelp, so stay still so I can skin you."_

"_I like my skin where it's at, thanks."_

_The sudden rush from Danny caught Skulker by surprise, the halfa managing to clothesline the much larger ghost in midair. Skulker caught himself quickly by use of his rocket booster, but found himself out of luck as Danny fired off two quick shots and took out both of the wings. The hunter found himself face to fist, and was driven down towards the ground, only managing a quick hit to Danny's stomach before they both hit the concrete street, hard._

_The imprint of the much larger ghost was sure to cause outcry in the city as they were currently on the main drag of Amity Park, though Danny knew it would be blamed on another ghost for once. It would be a welcome break, but the halfa was more concern about finishing the fight at the moment. A nasty blow to the back of Danny's skull had his head reeling, and he stumbled forward a few feet before looking around and finding a small metallic boomerang, akin to the Boo-merang used in his own household._

"_New toys, boy," Skulker pressed a button on his arm and the small metal object flew back to him, "You didn't think I'd face you without a few tricks up my sleeve did you, ghost child?"_

"_I think you'd better watch your mouth," Danny turned quickly with the thermos in his hand, recapping it with a smile when it was over and replacing it in its holder, "You talk too much."_

"_Bravo, little Badger."_

_Danny's hair on the nape of his neck stood, his shoulders instantly tensing as the smooth voice rolled over the empty street. Turning slowly, Danny faced his opponent, the much older man's cape gently blowing as the wind kicked up, no doubt caused by the angry energy being released by the both of them subconsciously._

"_It's never a compliment when it comes from your mouth Vlad," the younger halfa stood staring, feeling strangely about the situation as it was nearly three and Vlad was usually too suave to attack so late. He usually dealt in mind games and other such trying ordeals, "What are you doing here?"_

"_Temper boy," Plasmius warned with a knowing smile touching the corners of his mouth, making Danny's skin crawl, "I've just come for a friendly visit this time around. You see, I've heard you've acquired a new friend. A very good friend at that."_

"_Friend?" Danny echoed, slightly worried, "What would that have to do with you being here so late?"_

"_Oh, not a great deal," Vlad raised one shoulder in a half-shrug as he turned to look to the left, "I was in town on some business at Axion, yet again, and thought I might roam about a bit. Get reacquainted with the town I am so fond of. I was even thinking of stopping by for dinner tomorrow night."_

"_You aren't welcome," Danny clenched a glowing fist, wondering what was going on in Vlad's mind about Sam. The part about him being in town for business was probably the truth; Axion was growing by leaps and bounds and its CEO often made trips down from his comfortable home in Wisconsin, "Just get your business over with and leave."_

"_Oh, but I've heard such interesting things about your Samantha E. Manson," the fanged man smiled wickedly, the lamplights flashing on the elongated teeth, "I would so dearly love to meet her."_

"_Well you can forget about that," Danny's tone ranged so low it sounded as though the boy growled, "Why so much interest in Sam? She's just a friend. What about Valerie when we were going out, you never messed with her?"_

"_Ah Valerie Gray," a sigh issued from the man's mouth as he leaned his head to the side, a hand to his chin as he thought over the girl, "A perfect pawn in every way. So easily manipulated, so easily turned to taking the weapons I made for her and working for an anonymous benefactor. She, however, was never quite capable of completely destroying you."_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Something about the way Sam was looking over the thermos had Danny watching her. She held it carefully, as he had requested, and set it down on her nightstand, next to the Fenton lipstick she had picked up along the way. Her hand lingered on the cap for a moment and Danny tensed, not ready to have those particular ghosts wrecking havoc anywhere near Sam, especially not in her bedroom. He'd never hear the end of it from any of the ghosts, that was for sure.

She moved away from her nightstand quickly after that though, and Danny let out a quiet breath of relief. Her curiosity knew no bounds, but she truly did know when not to push, and Danny felt slightly ashamed for ever worrying. His quiet chuckle echoed strangely across the room, as had his words the entire time.

"I'll take it you got beat up in one of your fights," Sam looked him over as she sat back down, taking a few moments to dig out a small plastic container of burn cream and a set of gauze cloths to use with the cream, "So was it the first, the second, or both?"

"Both," Danny grinned lopsidedly, watching as Sam got her things ready and opened the burn cream, "I was kind of distracted though."

"Why's that?"

"One of the ghosts…mentioned a new friend of mine," he turned slightly, nervous over her reaction, "I didn't just stop by because I was tired…I would have come anyways to check on you."

"That's…sweet," Sam looked into strange green eyes and imagined how it might feel to constantly have family and friends threatened, "I'm okay Danny."

"I know," the boy stated quietly, thankful that she was and determined that she would stay that way, "I'm glad."

"Me too," Sam was still caught in the odd green of Danny's eyes, smiling like a fool, or so she felt. Looking him over again and remembering her rather awkward question of how to get him out of his clothes to better tend him left her searching for a better way to ask, "Um…it really would be better if you were in your normal clothes or something. Not that I mind the ghost get up or anything."

"Yeah, about that," Danny looked himself over, conscious that his current outfit was skin tight and left little to the imagination. It did, however, cover far more than what he had been wearing when he had transformed to fight, "I sleep in boxers and an undershirt tank."

"Alright," Sam looked down at her self in slight confusion, "I wear a spaghetti strap tank top and short shorts. What's the point?"

"I transformed in my night clothes," and still she wasn't putting two and two together, 'For a girl that figured out that Phantom and Fenton was one and the same, she sure is making this hard on me. I guess I can't blame her though…it is really late.'

"Um," Danny was blushing, wondering how to explain it without her freaking out on him, "When I transform back, I'll be in my night clothes Sam. You didn't exactly like it when I changed my shirt the other day, so I figured you might not appreciate me changing."

"The other day I was just surprised," the girl was laughing at him, and Danny could just feel his ego dropping bit by bit, "It was a good surprise, but still…I think I'll be just fine with the warning and all."

'Okay, my ego's fine,' the boy's eyebrows shot up, a grin lining his lips and dancing in his eyes, "Oh. So, you won't mind if I'm in boxers and a wife beater?"

"Every girl's dream I'm sure," Sam rolled her eyes and waved her hand, "Paulina's especially. Phantom in my room, on my bed in just boxers and a night shirt. Woohoo. Now hurry up, those cuts aren't cleaning themselves."

The blue flash traveled quickly, blinding Sam for a second as she felt something pass through part of her body, sending shivers skittering up and down her spine. She had to sit still for a moment as the odd sensation wore off and opened her eyes to see Danny worriedly watching her.

"Did…did that hurt?"

"No," Sam shook her head, still trying to get the odd sensation to leave her skin. It felt like a cold fire, though it didn't hurt, 'It tickled a little…and felt like I was in a cloud or something. Cold and maybe in me instead of just on me…'

"I've never changed with anyone that close to me," Danny wasn't sure if Sam was in shock or if he'd broken her somehow with his transformation, "I mean, they've been close, but the rings haven't ever touched them. Are you sure it didn't hurt?"

"It tickled," Sam admitted with a small blush, turning her head back towards the opened burn cream, "Hurry up and tell the rest of your story while I do this. Some ghost woke you up, you fought him, then another ghost showed up. Add some action in this time, or it'll get boring…and turn around so I can reach your shoulder better."

"Bossy," Danny teased but did as he was told. He even pulled off his undershirt to make it easier on Sam, but secretly did it for the blush. He was well rewarded, "Okay…um, action…Well, Vlad said some really interesting stuff, and we started to fight."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"_So, Val was a pawn, which I already figured out, and now it's fun for you because there's a girl who's my friend and you figure maybe something more," he looked over the older man, crossed his arms, and shook his head in mock despair, "You really need a cat my friend, if you're making up romantic stories to entertain yourself."_

"_You laugh now Daniel, but I doubt you'd be laughing if anything happened to the young lady," Vlad also began to loose some of his well known cool, letting his fists glow with vile purple tinged energy, "Perhaps I could tell her that a certain local boy and a certain local hero are one. She might not take that too well."_

"_You should give her some credit," Danny slowly started to move as Vlad did, the two circling one another with ready fists and feet, "She figured that out a few days ago, way ahead of the rest of the people in my life with the exception of Tucker and Jazz. Took Jazz a little longer than Sam even."_

"_Then she is certainly intelligent, as well as beautiful," the so called aristocratic man could charm his parents, but his tone filled Danny with a certain dread. He hated how Vlad called Sam beautiful. Such praise should never fall from the lips of such a horrid man, "There are other things that could be done, boy, other plans that could be implemented…"_

_Officially freaked out with the direction of the conversation, Danny launched himself at Vlad, surprising himself and the older man. The fight, for once, was silent as they traded blow for blow, 'He can't do anything, because I won't let him. I have to beat him…and I have to keep him away from Sam. I'm so sick and tired of him going after people I care about!'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"I really thought he'd get to you," Danny suddenly turned and stilled Sam's hands with one of his own, "That's why I wanted to check on you…to see if he'd sent a ghost or someone to kidnap you. I hate it when he threatens my family…"

Sam softly pushed Danny back around as she tried to clean more of the small scratches scattered around his back from where he'd been pushing into concrete or a building or whatever had caused it, his shoulder and a cut across his back already taken care of, "He didn't though."

"He could of," she felt Danny shiver slightly, his fear being displayed through the small action and through his voice though he was trying to hide it, "I would have been sound asleep and never known until Vlad told me or we found out you were missing. Sometimes I swear I hate that man. He's the only person I hate, besides my older self…"

"You shouldn't hate, Danny," she steadied her own shaking hands to smooth one over his bear shoulder, "That's what you fight against, isn't it? People who hated so much they couldn't let go or people who hated having to give up their passion and became ghosts? You're not one to hate, Danny, you're too kind a person for that."

"I wish you were right," his shoulder tensed under Sam's hand before she held it more firmly, forcing him to relax under her hold. They sat absorbed in their own thoughts for a moment, Danny relaxing more and more under the steady pressure of Sam's hold, until he started to nod off, leaning back a bit and slumping into Sam.

"Danny," she pushed him forward, waking him from the doze he'd fallen into, "Did you hit your head?"

"A boomerang hit it. Does that count?"

"Hm," Sam leaned forward and around the boy, finding his eyes with her own and checking them for dilated pupils, "You don't look like you have a concussion, but at least stay awake until I get finished, alright?"

"I'll try," Danny chuckled, wondering if she knew he'd slipped into sleep because he was so comfortable with her and her hand on his shoulder, or if she really thought he'd hit his head, 'You'd probably give me a concussion if you knew, though, huh?'

"There's more of your story right?" Sam started working on his right arm where another deep cut slit his skin down his bicep, "I mean, you didn't just lunge at him, I'm sure."

"No, I didn't."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_Danny was giving as good, and as much, as he was getting. Vlad's stray shot that burned his arm was returned with a burn to the older halfa's leg. A nasty scratch on his lower back caused by being thrown into a tree's branch was traded for a punch to the kidneys and a quick uppercut to the chin. It was one of the more brutal fights between the pair, and Vlad had noticed._

_A pause between the two fighters was spent catching their breath and rebuilding some small amount of energy to be expended in battle. Vlad ran a hand across his sore chin, then checked on his leg, which seemed in good shape. His kidneys, Danny knew from experience, were probably giving him hell and the young halfa smirked viciously, 'See how much you like peeing in the morning.'_

"_You've fought ferociously tonight little Badger," Vlad managed to speak, standing as straight as he could with the pain starting to rip through his back and side, "I think you've found something to fight for besides just this pathetic town and your friends."_

"_I'm just tired of you threatening everyone and everything I care about," Danny let himself rise into the air in imitation of Vlad, sure that it was soon to become an aerial battle and hoping he could finally end it, 'I'm faster than he is now, and probably about as strong. The best part about being in the air though, is I'm a lot more flexible than the old man.'_

_The fight continued as soon as Vlad was ready, giving Danny precious time to work out a quick plan. As the older man shot forward, Danny followed suit, but twisted away and sped under his form at the last second, nearly colliding head on as he did so. Vlad halted his progress as quickly as he could, but that was his fatal mistake._

_A huge ball of energy was being built by Danny as Vlad tried to stop, then carefully aimed and sent straight towards the older man, knocking him out of the air as he spent all his concentration on blocking the huge blast. It pressed him back and down, but dissipated quickly against the shield, and Vlad managed to fire off two rapid shots, both landing squarely on Danny's shoulder as he tried to dodge, burning him badly._

_Danny landed clumsily as he dropped in slight shock at the burn across his shoulder, tripping and rolling onto his back. He finally skidded to a stop and noticed pain shooting up his arm as a stray nail in the road caught his skin and ripped it open along with his sleeve. The landing had also jarred the thermos loose and it clattered to a stop a few feet from where Vlad stood._

'_God, please let me be fast enough,' and Danny was off, ignoring every protesting muscle that screamed at him from being overworked and used far more quickly than they were supposed to be, 'Please...'_

_When Danny had landed, Vlad had watched the thermos from where he knelt, knowing what it was capable of and fearing it more than any other Fenton invention that had ever been made. The boy's eyes flickered between it and himself, and Vlad knew he had only a few seconds to retrieve the item before Danny would recover it. The plan was simple and brilliant, and Masters felt pride well up in him as he acknowledged what Danny was about to try._

_Danny was running, aiding himself with his ability to fly and watching as Vlad too headed towards the thermos, though at a much slower rate. The boy finally threw himself into the air, pressing harder and harder to make it in time and landed in a graceful roll to snatch the thermos scant moments before Vlad would have, the pair's hands brushing against one another in their individual attempts._

_The look on Vlad's face had been pure wickedness and Danny curled in on himself just as he felt a punch land right against his ribs. He was sure he heard, as well as felt, a crack and cried out in pain as he was propelled away from Plasmius. Knowing that Vlad would surely attack again, the halfa wrenched himself around, in pure agony from the motion, and slammed his foot out, catching his elder on his breastbone and sending him back and away from himself._

_Vlad pulled himself up just as Danny uncapped the thermos, seeing the slight blue vortex starting to form and managing a small nod to the boy who had so surely beaten him this time, "Clever boy. You always were quick to learn, just like me."_

"_I'm nothing like you," Danny stood shaking, power humming through the thermos and up his arm as it began its pull, "and I never will be."_

_As soon as the cap was on as tightly as he could possibly manage, Danny turned and looked towards home. He was at least twenty blocks away by now, and positive that nothing was happening. No flashes of light, no smoke, and no explosions were occurring, so Vlad had planned nothing for them._

'_Sam,' her face ran across his mind and he was in the air and heading towards her home, praying to find her safe, 'She has to be fine…'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Guess you already know the rest of the story," Danny laughed nervously, pulling his shirt back on as Sam put a final bandage on a small cut across his cheek, "I got worried, came over here, and invited myself in. Ow, Saaaam…did you have to pat my cheek after putting a bandage on it?"

"Probably not," the girl turned to hide her grin and the blush that had grown as he explained the desperation of the fight once he felt Vlad Plasmius had threatened her, "Don't be a whiner, I took care of everything for you."

'He's obviously feeling a little better, too,' Sam watched him stretch his arms upward, working out a kink in his shoulder, even as his burn pulled and caused him to wince and blow out a pained breath, 'Talking about it probably helped…along with me being okay, apparently.'

"Now that you have a thermos full of Vlad, what do you plan on doing?"

"That's always been a problem, you know?" the grin on Danny's face was telling Sam otherwise though, and she threatened to punch his shoulder unless he told her the truth, "Well, it was a problem, but now it's not. My parents built a containment unit bigger than the thermos to study ghosts. Jazz and me tested it out, and it held me, even when I was going full out. If I can't get out of it, Vlad can't get out of it."

"But you said he knows your parents, and if he just changes before they come in, they'll let him out," Sam played devil's advocate against Danny's idea, not because she wanted to shoot him down, but because she wanted to make sure there would be no problems or flaws in his plan. "How will you work that out?"

"I can separate Plasmius from Masters," Danny grinned, the plan forming as he thought over all the inventions his parents had, "My parents invented a dream catcher that helps drag possessing ghosts from people. It's supposed to knock both the person and the ghost unconscious, but my parents have had to work on it a lot to get it there. The first time I went through it, my human half was unconscious and I went back into my body. The second time my ghost half and human half were both conscious and turned out to be split personalities…that was a really interesting day for Tucker…"

"Poor Tuck," Sam agreed, even as she wondered just how much blackmail Tucker had gotten out of the deal, "I take it there's a third time?"

"Yeah," Danny leaned back on both arms as he thought over his memory, "Jazz thought it might be more useful if it actually knocked out both entity and person. Tucker had a possession once and it didn't knock the ghost out. I didn't have any trouble, but I could have if the ghost had been nastier. We told our parents the idea about knocking both parties out and they loved it. Needless to say, the third time I went through it, it worked, and Jazz had to wake both of me up and send me back through."

"You have the weirdest stories," Sam shook her head, "So you plan on sending Vlad through that dream catcher thing, trapping his evil side for you parents to study, and what? Letting his other side go?"

"Pretty much," Danny shrugged, "I can't exactly keep Vlad Masters locked up too. The split personality thing apparently stuck with the machine, so I figure Vlad Plasmius will be an evil ghost all about taking over the two dimensions, and Vlad Masters will just be an evil businessman with a bad crush on my Mom."

"I guess that's fair," Sam sighed and rolled her eyes, "I don't know about the two dimensions, but I guess it will all work out. What about your bruises and burns? How are you going to hide those? And your ribs? I can't take care of them here, but I can get you the best doctor in the country."

"No, never take me to a doctor if anything's seriously wrong," Danny shook his head, frowning heavily, "My blood wouldn't be normal and I'm sure the government would have a field day, especially the ghost division, GIW…better known as the Guys In White."

"So what do I do?" Sam had no clue what she could do if something serious was to happen, "I won't sit around and let you die, that's for sure."

"Get me to my parents and tell them my story," Danny shrugged, "They'd be able to help me better than anyone else, and Jazz and Tucker both know to do that too. They'd help you out and keep Mom and Dad in line."

"Okay," Sam let out a deep breath, trying to take in the grave thoughts that surrounded such a situation, "but that had better never happen Danny Phantom…or Danny Fenton."

"You got it," he gingerly wrapped an arm around Sam and pulled her into a sideways hug, "And don't worry, the next time I change most of my bruises and cuts will disappear. By tomorrow morning, my ribs will be sore, but they won't be broken anymore. I'll just tell Mom and Dad I fell out of bed again…I seem to do that a lot."

"You act like a fool, but you really aren't," Sam smiled up at him from her odd point of view pressed into his side, "Very smart Danny, and a very good way to keep your cover. That part really had me confused for a while."

"Who said I was acting?" the boy teased, then let his arm hang across her shoulders, "You know, it's nice to know you'd get me the best doctor in the country. I think I might like having a friend who's filthy rich."

"I'd rather you not advertise that," Sam admitted, frowning as she studied her hands folded in her lap, "I want people to know me for myself and not my money. That's why I didn't tell you or Tucker…I don't want friends who just want me for my money."

"Well, you got that," Danny laughed, then pulled her closer, "but I think you might have ended up with two boys who just hang out with you to ogle your body."

"Great," Sam knew he was teasing, the laughter giving him away, "Not wanted for my money, just for my body. At least my self confidence level got a boost out of it…"

"Sam, you're great," the boy went back to just having his arm across her shoulder, silently pleased when she didn't pull away from him, "I promise I won't tell a soul about you being rich…I haven't yet."

"Thank you," the girl happily sank backwards onto her bed to catch a glance at her clock, "It's already four in the morning."

"Perfect," Danny replied from where he sat, looking back over his shoulder at Sam, "Three more hours of sleep before I have to get up at seven thirty...thirty minutes to get home and get past the security of course."

"Of course," Sam repeated tiredly from where she lay before she snagged one of her extra blankets from the side of the bed and tossed it at the back of the halfa's head, halfway asleep even as she spoke, "Or three and a half hours of sleep if you just shut up."

Danny silently slid the blanket off his head and placed it beside him before repacking the first aide kit and placing it on the ground beside Sam's bed, thinking over what she had implied and glancing back at the dozing girl every now and again. She surprised him when she spoke a quiet, "I really am glad you're okay Danny."

'Oh, what the hell?' Danny tiredly let himself fall back as his friend had done and pulled the blanket over them both, laying facing the ceiling as Sam was, "Thanks, Sam. I'm…sorry I just barged in on you."

"Danny?" she sounded so sweet in that moment, but Danny wasn't fooled for a second and chuckled as a pillow slammed into his face, "Shut up. I don't care that you didn't knock 'cause it was kinda' an emergency, I'm glad that you showed up so I could help you, and no I don't care that we're a boy and a girl falling asleep next to each other because I'm tired and I know you're too exhausted to try anything besides drooling on my pillow. Good night and go the hell to sleep before I seriously wound you myself."

Sam stuck out her tongue at the end of her tirade and turned over with a 'humph' to rest on her side. She was asleep in seconds, drained from everything she had experienced that night and from missing out on sleep for nearly an hour. Danny continued to lay on his back, thinking over how strange it was to be laying next to her small form. He wasn't as nervous as he thought he should be, and smiled over at her back.

'I guess because it's Sam,' he thought, drifting in and out as he headed towards slumber, 'I don't worry about being myself around her, and I know she's herself around me…there's trust.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Oh Sam!"

The cry from her mother brought her out of sleep immediately, her eyes landing on her mom as one thought raced across her mind, 'Danny…oh shit!'

Imagine her surprise to find herself alone, tucked under her covers, and her parent looking at the open curtains on her window, "Oh Sam, I knew you'd start to leave those dreadfully heavy curtains open eventually. Isn't it just so pleasant to wake up with the morning sun?"

'I think I might kill him,' Sam thought as she kicked off the blankets, thinking back over the hour spent bandaging Danny and the subsequent hours of rest both were supposed to be getting, "Oh, I honestly didn't think I left them open last night after I watched the moon."

"Ah, yes well," her mother cleared her throat in a very lady like manner, before moving to pick up a spare blanket that had been left on the window sill and fold it neatly, "Here's your blanket dear. Get ready for school and I'll see you downstairs before you leave. Your father had to leave early this morning for a conference."

"Right," Sam started to move around her room and watched her mother leave, "Alright, where'd you go Danny?"

She found nothing looking around her room, and nothing in her closet when she went to quickly change into a new outfit for the day. Coming back out, she found an invisible hand tapping out a pattern against her window, 'At least he didn't run away…'

Danny waited for Sam to re-emerge from her closet before tapping on her window, watching as she walked over with one eyebrow up before sliding the window up in a silent invitation to her ghostly visitor. Danny grinned as he stepped through, then sat down on the window seat to Sam's right and popped suddenly back into view. It didn't phase her nearly as much as he hoped though, and so he sat pouting, which made Sam smile gently, "Good morning to you too, sourpuss."

"Yeah well, can't win them all, though I did last night!" he shot up in the air at his declaration, and Sam noticed that he was in jeans and a t-shirt, his backpack hanging off his good shoulder as he did a mid-air victory dance just for Sam, "Oh yeah, who's the halfa? That's right…"

"Alright party boy," Sam gently tugged his pant leg, pulling him down slightly as she craned her neck back to talk to the celebrating boy, "I know that your arch enemy is gone and all that good stuff, but someone might look through my window and see a boy dancing in the air…probably not good for your cover."

"Heh, right," Danny immediately dropped to the floor in the face of Sam's good sense, though his want to revel in his victory had not diminished, "but I still won, once and for all! I split Vlad and already sent Masters on his way. Plasmius is just a raving nuisance in a cage, waiting in my parents' lab with a note signed, 'A peace offering: The Wisconsin Ghost. Love, Phantom.' Today is great!"

"I take it you went home at some point," Sam smacked him on his good arm, hard enough to make Danny rub it in consternation, "You could have told me! My Mom came in and I freaked out because I thought she was going to catch us…asleep…in my bed."

A look passed over Sam's face before she turned to glare hatefully at the offending boy, "I swear to God, Danny Fenton, if you ever tell a single soul that you slept with me, even in jest, I will rip out your intestines and shove them where the sun doesn't shine. Then I'll rip out your eyes balls, stuff them up your nose, and play my father's karaoke recordings until you beg for death."

"Whoa, calm down there," Danny found himself bumping against a wall as he backed away from an advancing, angry Sam, "I wouldn't do that. Besides, you're one of the few people that I can actually trust…I would never break that. I just tucked you in because you looked cold if you're worried about that."

"Good," and Sam was all smiles again as she held out her hand, waiting for him to accept her goodwill offering of a handshake. Danny let his head fall against the wall behind him as he laughed and grabbed her hand in a firm grip, shaking it slowly as Sam started to chuckle as well, "Now, out, so I can finish getting ready for school. I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes so we can walk to school."

"You got it," Danny sucked in a quick breath, bracing himself for what he was about to do, "I just wanted to say thank you again, for everything."

Ducking his head slightly, he placed a light kiss to Sam's cheek, then pulled away and clumsily backed his way to the window, already partially invisible before melting away completely and trying to slip silently outside. A quiet "Ow," as he bumped his head had the blushing Sam laughing shyly even as he made his escape, a laugh escaping his own tingling lips.

Sam felt sure that her blush was permanent, but she didn't mind. Having experienced the exhilaration of flying first hand, she could honestly relate her current feelings to that. The smile plastered to her face had her mother wondering, but her grandmother smiling knowingly. A girl didn't have that kind of smile without a nice surprise waiting for her in the morning.

The older woman chuckled to herself as she watched out the backdoor as a tall young man met her granddaughter and the two headed to school, blushing as their hands touched as they walked together. She silently wondered how long it would be before she had a grandson-in-law, and cackled as she zipped down the hall, her own daughter-in-law left in her dust and curious as to the older woman's sudden mood.

It was indeed, a very fine day, for everyone involved.


	19. Banter

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Um, the events of the cannon series have all still happened in this story, but they either happened slightly differently, or in a different order. Not everything is the same, but it will be very, very close.  
Oh, and I haven't seen any of season three yet, so…yeah. I won't be including it in this story. Sorry guys.  
Enjoy, it's super extra long and not edited so don't shoot me!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.  
**Chapter Nineteen: Banter  
**.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Maddie!" the booming voice echoed Danny's house as Jack bounded up the stairs and happily ruffled his youngest child's hair, "Hey, kiddo. Have you seen your mother?"

"I think she said something about an attitude modulator in the attic, but I could be wrong," the boy chuckled as he watched his father nod happily, "What are you two up to anyways?"

"Well," his father set himself down at the kitchen table, stealing a cookie off of the plate Danny had in front of him, "Your mother and I have recently been given an amazing opportunity to study one of the most powerful ghosts we've ever encountered. The Wisconsin ghost is currently down in the lab in one of our new containment units. The best part is, we didn't even have to do any work to get him…though that's the bad part too."

"Why's that so bad?" the halfa tried to keep himself from smirking as he took in his father's frowning face, 'I'll take a shot in the dark and guess that you still don't trust the ghost boy…some evil plot cooked up between the two, or something.'

"Well, that ghost kid…calls himself Phantom," Jack took a deep breath and scratched the scruff growing on his chin, "Supposedly he caught the other ghost for us and left him as a gift. Your mother and I are a bit suspicious about it…we think it's some sort of plot to get us to lower our guard. Not that we'll ever let that trouble making ghost get the better of us!"

"Well," Danny took a second to stop his chuckling and collect himself, "Maybe he was just trying to be nice…you know, apologize for all the problems…turn over a new leaf?"

"Ghosts don't change," Jack sternly told his son as he lay a hand on his shoulder, the solemn tone to his voice making the halfa wince at his father's conviction, "They don't suddenly decide that they've done wrong and want to change."

"Maybe he's never done things wrong on purpose," he could feel his agitation rising and nearly fell off his chair when his cell phone rang in his pocket, "Sorry, Dad…"

"Oh, it's fine," the older man shook his head at the boy's behavior, "I'm just glad that you're actually carrying it."

"Hello?" As soon as Danny heard a reply, Jack knew it was someone special to the boy. The grin that had split his face was brilliant and Jack was sure he hadn't seen Danny smile so widely in nearly a year. Grinning at his child, he sat back and listened to half a conversation, coming quickly to the realization that 'Sam' was not necessarily a boy's name.

"Oh, hey Sam," there was that grin, "No, it's cool, wouldn't have given you the number if I minded. No I haven't talked to Tucker, but I am going to see him in a little while. Notes? Um…no I don't have them, but like you said, Tuck would."

"Who's that?" Maddie walked in with a long metal rod in her hands. Danny paled as he watched his mother and tried to focus on Sam's reply. The rod looked strangely like a cattle prod…the electrical, painful sort.

"Sam," Danny answered her, just as his father did with a wickedly happy grin, causing the young man to blush, then answer the girl on the other line, "No, sorry. My Mom wanted to know who I was talking to. Yeah…oh, right, Tuck. He'll be over here later, but I don't know why you can't get a hold of him. Why don't you just drop by about two and catch him here?"

"That would be nice," Maddie nodded her head, moving to put the rod onto the table, then check the fridge, "I think I have enough snacks for three teenagers…"

"Heh, yeah that was my Mom…no, she doesn't know…"

"Know what?" Jack asked as both parents turned to their son, hopeful that he'd began to move on after his supposedly 'good' break up with Valerie Gray. Danny heaved a sigh as his blush reappeared, already knowing what the older pair was thinking.

"That she's a vegetarian," Danny clarified, trying his hardest not to roll his eyes. It was interesting splitting his attention between his parents in front of him, and Sam on the phone, "She doesn't eat anything with a face, or something like that…shut up, I didn't…no! C'mon, I didn't make it sound like something's wrong with you."

Both of his parents chuckled as their son's attention swung back to the girl on the other end of the line, a knowing look passing between the two, "Great, see you in a few minutes and I'll make sure my parents don't offer any meat. Yeah, yeah…see you then."

Danny hung up, turned back to his parents slowly, and grimaced as he was met with two curious sets of eyes, 'Alright, here it comes…questions, accusations, overflowing joy, unfounded teasing…or semi-unfounded at least.'

"So, no meat?" his mother started first, "That must be a very difficult thing to pull off at school, not to mention how hard it is to get enough protein. She must be fairly thin."

"Yeah, Sam's a string bean," Danny tried to avert their detention, his eyes landing on the rod his mother had brought down from the attic, "So…that's the attitude modulator?"

"Yes, it sends an electrical pulse laced with ectoplasm through a ghost's system to make sure he realizes which behaviors are unsatisfactory while we conduct our experiments," his mother answered, letting herself be distracted for a moment, but quickly redirected the conversation onto Danny's new friend, "What does Sam like to snack on?"

"Um, healthy stuff?" Danny hadn't seen Sam snack on much else besides foods that were either super healthy or available as a substitute of meat, "She usually gets a salad at lunch or brings her own food…she eats fries at the Nasty Burger."

"Good enough," Jack patted his son's back heavily, "You'll have to get to know her better."

"Um, okay," Danny slid out of his seat and away from the embarrassment that he was facing while facing his parents, "I'm going to go upstairs now and avoid this strange conversation."

"Before you do," Jack moved swiftly to catch the boy's arm, "Let's go take a look at our new ghosts! I'll tell you about all the exciting things we've learned from studying our subject."

"Right," Danny swallowed heavily, allowing his father to drag him downstairs as his mother followed with the cattle prod that had been modified with ectoplasm. She had never said that, but Danny wasn't stupid. It was obvious what they had done, "Does he talk?"

"No, this ghost apparently resorts to guttural sounds and refuses to communicate as we know most ghosts can," the answer came from his mother behind him, just as the containment unit came into view with a wickedly sneering Plasmius came into view, "How did you know it was a he?"

"Just seems like most ghosts are boys," Danny's hand shot up to the back of his neck, wondering just how often he slipped up and why his parents hadn't figured it out yet, as Sam had, 'Please don't start talking now…wonder why you haven't yet.'

"You," the silky voice rolled across them all, Danny's head jerking towards the ghost in front of him as his parents excitedly ran to their equipment. Plasmius dropped his voice as he watched the activity start, "I always knew it would be you. How dare you?"

"I did it to protect my family, my friends," Danny answered back quietly as he monitored his parents across the room, "I couldn't let you threaten my people anymore, Vlad."

"Unfortunately, I am not exactly Vlad," the ghost hovered near the clear glass of his cage, "I am only half of the man, and not human at all. You have experienced this before, have you not? Split yourself into two personalities with that damn dream catcher, and tried to sort yourself out as you lost something vital and gained something at the same time?"

"I lost half of me," Danny nodded, not quite understanding the ghost in front of him. He seemed just as diabolical as before, but far more quiet and withdrawn, "but the two halves were happy. They could finally live the way I wanted to, without the pull of a double life."

"And so it is now," the ghost nodded, "I hate you for what you have done, separating me from my body. But it is because I am also grateful that I do not reveal your secrets to the world Little Badger. To your parents, dear boy."

"Grateful?" Danny echoed, confused beyond all reason by this point. His parents were still busy warming up their equipment and monitoring the ghost's spectral energy activity. They were still ignoring the pair, and so their whispered talk could continue uninterrupted.

"Grateful that I can now pursue both my passions for my business and in life, as well as my other, more ghostly passions," his flickering red eyes traveled beyond Danny to mother, causing the boy's eyes to burn green, "Careful boy. Wouldn't want that little secret to slip out."

"Danny boy!" his father finally interrupted, wondering why this son seemed so tense and was so sharply shaking his head, "Come look at the read out we've been getting! There's another ghost somewhere around here, two signatures were found and locked onto around the containment unit, one in it, the other right outside it, by where you were standing. This is great!"

"Yeah, Dad," Danny headed towards the stairs, his parents wondering at his sudden shift in attitude, "Great. I'll see you later."

"Do you think something is wrong? He was standing awfully close to the containment unit."

"It's fine, I'm sure," Maddie turned to lay a gentle hand on her husband, her own worry for her child just as clear in her voice, "He's always been afraid of ghosts…maybe it just bothered him. Let's leave him alone for a bit, and I'll talk to him later."

"Good," Jack turned back to stare at the quiet ghost in the corner, "Until then, let's do another scan with our new Ability Detector."

"Fenton Ability Detector, dear," Maddie smiled as Jack grinned with childish glee, then rolled her eyes, "Fenton."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Danny!" Maddie yelled up the stairs as the doorbell rang for the second time, no sound of steps on the stairs signaling someone answering the door, "Can you get the door? Danny!"

Figuring that since she was already up the stairs from the basement she might as well open the door, the woman shook her head in resignation and shuffled towards her home's entrance, 'It's either Tucker or Sam, and either way it will get Danny out of his room.'

"One second!" and she was at the door and opening it to find a rather darkly dressed girl on her doorstep, a scowl plastered on her face until she realized who was at the door in front of her. The young woman's face fell into a look of shock and a blush covered her cheeks prettily as she averted her stunning eyes, trying to hide her embarrassment at scowling at a complete stranger who happened to be one of her best friends' mothers.

"Um, hi," the girl finally met her eyes again, and a tired smile spread across the older woman's face. Her son certainly had an interesting taste in girls, "I'm sorry I was…glaring. I thought Danny was just playing around and not opening the door."

"Mom?" the call came from upstairs before Maddie could answer, the tale tell thud of feet running down the stairs, "Did you call me earlier?"

Ignoring her son for the moment, Maddie opened the door wider and invited Sam in with a smile and wave of her hand, "Sam right? I'll make sure Danny is more of a gentleman and opens the door for you next time."

"It's not that he doesn't," Sam quickly backpedaled, not wanting to get the halfa in trouble, "He actually opens doors for me all the time…I just thought he was trying to be funny or something. It's fine, no lecture on manners necessary. I don't think I've ever seen a guy be more of a gentleman…and I'm rambling now and I'm going to stop."

"Oh why stop, Sam?" the voice from the kitchen doorway where Danny had come to a stop when his mother ignored him was teasing, the charming grin on his face speaking to just what he'd heard. Sam folded her arms and blushed, thinking about taking it all back, "I mean, I'm so charming, you might as well let the world know…less work for me."

"The word 'charming' certainly never left my mouth," Sam replied, turning her nose up and her head to the side in an apparent snub, "Just because you know how to open a door and act like a gentleman doesn't make you charming. _Don't _put words into my mouth."

"Wouldn't dream of it," the boy rolled his eyes, "Tucks not here yet by the way, which is weird because he's never late. Sorry I didn't get the door Mom, I was trying to fix my alarm clock…it kept going off."

"Could have been a ghost," Sam knowingly eyed the boy who was glancing between his mother and the his room upstairs, or what Sam assumed to be his room, "You know, trying to mess with your head and randomly set off your alarm clock."

"Better watch what you say," Danny rolled his eyes again, his mother forgotten between the two for a moment, "Might end up happening to you one of these days."

"Right," Sam smiled at Mrs. Fenton, "Is he always such a know it all?"

"Not usually," Maddie smiled, the girl showing far better qualities than had been displayed on the doorstep. She certainly could keep the boy on his toes, and the mother was sure her son hadn't smiled and joked so much in quite a long time, "I think the circumstances are a bit different now though. Why don't you two head upstairs and I'll grab a few snacks? Jack probably left some fudge somewhere."

"Maybe behind the emergency ham," Danny suggested as he hurriedly shepherded Sam towards the stairs, the girl mouthing 'Emergency ham?' back to him silently as he shook his head, "See you in a minute!"

"Right, sweetie," his mother's voice followed the two upstairs, a blush soon bursting onto both faces, "Behave you two!"

"Okay," Danny choked out, pushing himself through the door with Sam along with him, not bothering to even open it as they went, "God, why? Why is my family bent on either my total destruction, or the destruction of my social life…"

"Every parent is bent on the second one," Sam laughed as she started to take in the room around her, "I think you're one of the few who has to worry about the first. Are those rockets hanging from the ceiling?"

"Yeah," the teen winced, remembering the exact same statement out of Valerie the first time he'd brought her up to his room, 'Only it was followed with a 'That's kinda' immature,' instead of a nod. I should really take those down.'

"Danny? Earth to Danny?"

"Sorry, what?" he turned from staring at the rockets to find Sam sitting in his computer chair, gently spinning it halfway to the side, then halfway back again. He watched her for a moment as a smirk crossed her face, her forehead wrinkling cutely as she observed him, "I didn't hear you."

"I know," she glanced up at the rockets again, "You've been staring at your models."

"I was kinda' thinking about what Valerie said the first time she saw them," he sank tiredly onto his bed with a sigh. His hand ran through his hair in the now comfortingly familiar gesture as a small smile appeared, "Hope you don't think I'm too immature or anything."

"No," Sam fixed her eyes on the hanging toys again, wondering at what Valerie had told him, "It's not immature to hold on to your childhood. I have anime posters all over my walls. I have a _Danny Phantom _key chain hanging on my backpack like a little kid, and I even still have one of the teddy bears my Dad gave me when I was five."

"I didn't see that in your room," Danny quirked an eyebrow, leaning back on his hands as he watched Sam examine his desk and push a random soda bottle off the side and into his wastepaper basket, "Was it on your bed or something?"

"It's hidden in my wall safe," she eyed the halfa carefully, "and me telling you that is not permission to go poking around my walls to find it."

"You have a wall safe?"

"Who has a wall safe?" the door was eased open as Maddie made her way in, a tray of fudge and two glasses of milk balanced easily, "Fudge and milk…you drink milk, right Sam?"

"Er, well," Sam nervously glanced between the glass and Danny's mother's smiling face, "Milk comes from cows…obviously, but what I mean is it…"

"She's more vegan than vegetarian," Danny cut in, trying to spare Sam her stumbled explanation, "Soymilk only sort of vegetarian, ya' know Mom?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize," she smiled at Sam, then set the tray down on Danny's dresser, slapping her son's hand away as he moved to take a glass, "If Sam doesn't get any, you don't either. Do you like water Sam, or a soda?"

"Water's fine," the girl smiled again, the motion catching Danny's attention, much to his mother's amusement, "I don't really feel like anything sugary today, thanks."

"Alright," Maddie once again slapped her son's had away, "I'll be right back up with something more vegan friendly and maybe I'll whip up a batch of vegan friendly fudge…after I get the phone."

Still balancing the tray perfectly, Danny and Sam watched the woman hurry out the door, Danny with a small smile, Sam in slight amazement, "I guess that's where you get it when you fight."

"Get what?"

"That graceful side you always seem to hide," Sam shot him a look, the same she'd given him in front of his locker when she said she knew his secret, "You lie about it a lot. You're not good at dodge ball just because you dodge bullies all the time."

"I guess," the halfa shrugged self-consciously, "I kinda' went from awkward teenager to graceful fighter in a few short months…courtesy the helpful ghosts who want to kill me all the time. I can't exactly go from clumsy boy to graceful guy overnight."

"Smart," Sam raised one eyebrow, carefully checking him over for any more hidden secrets that might be found. She came up with nothing, though she was sure she'd fine them eventually, 'I think I actually want to find out…to know more about him. I mean, more than before even.'

"Back!" Maddie's voice broke the sudden silence that had fallen between the pair, "And I brought Tucker with me."

"Sorry I'm late man, some sort of ghost messed with my phone and PDA and everything," he glanced over Sam, as though she was no surprise, which made Maddie even happier, "Hey Sam."

"Hey Tuck," Sam answered as Maddie handed her a glass of water, then set down a tray of carrot sticks and apple slices, "Perfect. Thanks Mrs. Fenton."

"Oh hon," she winked at the girl, taking delight in the blushes she knew were coming, "Just call me Mom."

"Mom," Danny was the first to protest, though he didn't actually have anything to protest and was caught in his outburst. Searching for a way out without Tucker's teasing falling on him, his eyes lit as they landed on the tray, "That's all healthy stuff. Why not bring something for me and Tuck so we don't starve to death?"

"Yeah, _Mom_," Tucker grinned widely, even as he ducked the flying pen sent his way by Sam, "Why no meat? Everyone knows that growing teens need meat."

"That's enough you two," she passed a soda to each of the boys, "Oh, by the way Danny, Vlad called from his Vermont office and was thinking about coming into town sometime next month. He was supposed to be here this last week, but something unexpected came up apparently."

"Joy," Danny ground out, earning a dirty look from his mother. He stood his ground, with both Tucker and Sam glancing away with upset looks on their faces, "We'll have to have a party when he gets here."

"Really Danny," his mother looked between the three with a strange feeling settling over her, "He's a friend, you know that. He may not have always behaved in a manner you or I think he should, but he's always been here for your father and I."

"I know, sorry," Danny turned away, the strange conversation with Plasmius playing in his mind as foreboding feelings washed over him, "Jazz doesn't like him either though."

"I know," Maddie headed towards the door, "I can't ever figure out why you two dislike him so much."

As soon as she exited, Sam quietly sipped at her water, then turned to spit out the water at the back of Danny's head. It froze in an arc halfway to him and dropped to his carpeted floor. Sam sat still where she was, "That wasn't very nice."

The laughing green eyes that turned to her had Sam rolling her own eyes and leaning back in the chair, pushing further away from the desk and closer to Danny's bed, across from which Tucker stood, "Took your mind off of it, didn't it? Now Tucker, about those promised notes?"

"Notes?" the teen joked as Danny let himself fall backwards and listened to the pair, "What notes, Sam? Notes on meat?"

"Shut it Tuck," a pillow flew over Danny's head, and an outraged shriek sounded from the opposite side of the room where Sam had undoubtedly gotten nailed by the projectile, "You're dead, Foley."

"Not me," the teen's face appeared in the corner of Danny's eye, "That would be your boyfriend here."

"Dead!" both Danny and Sam cried out as they went after Tucker. Danny watched Sam fly over him and his bed in a large leap that had her landing next to his side and bouncing off towards the surprised Tucker. The halfa soon followed suit as he scrambled up and joined Sam in her attack. The boy was soon taken down and held in a head lock by Danny, while Sam mercilessly tickled him.

Downstairs found both Maddie and Jack shaking their heads at the noise coming from their son's bedroom. It was only three and already the trio was rambunctious. Neither could wait to see what would happen between the three friends, and Jack couldn't wait to talk to Sam about ghosts. She was, after all, a fresh face to talk to about spectral happenings.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Danny! Dinner's ready!"

"Be right down!" he stuck his head through the door, literally to Sam's amusement, to answer, then turned to his two friends, "You two going to stay?"

"Sure," Sam shrugged her shoulders, then looked to Tucker, who was suddenly a ball of energy as he began to move around the room.

"Love to," Tucker was hurriedly packing up his things, the frantic look making Sam a bit nervous about her decision to stay, "but, you know…I like to eat my food, instead of the other way around. I'll see you later."

"Bye man," Danny rolled his eyes as his best friend disappeared out the door and down the steps.

"Do I even want to know why he left in such a hurry?" Sam's pulled herself away from the videogame she was currently playing on Danny's computer to hold up a few sheet of paper with messy handwriting on them, "He forgot his notes."

"He's not worried about the notes right now," the boy finally stepped away from the door and grabbed for Sam's hand, pulling her up easily even as she resisted, "Dinner, come on."

"I'm not sure I want to eat dinner here anymore," the girl resisted, even as the halfa forced her towards the door, "Why did Tucker say something about not wanting to try to eat food that can eat him? That doesn't even make sense, unless it's still alive, and I don't think your family is into eating live animals...and if you are, I'd have to disown you as a friend."

"Good thing we don't eat live animals," the boy joked as he finally got Sam through the door and down the stairs, coming into the kitchen with her a half a step behind, "I'd hate to lose a best friend. They're kinda' hard to find nowadays."

"Oh yes," Sam agreed as she snagged a pile of plates from Maddie, who smiled her thanks, and started to help set the table, "because best friends are in such short supply. Tucker running off and all…"

"Hey, you don't work, you're a guest," the plates magically disappeared from her hands, and Danny was rewarded with a glare, much like Maddie had encountered earlier. Jack simply laughed and helped his son as the two women sat themselves at the food laden table, "Don't tell Tuck I said that. He never works anyways and Mom's always on him about helping out."

"He's been around so long, it's like he's another son," Mrs. Fenton explained to Sam from across the table as the two members of the opposite sex joined them, "He's a good boy, and has manners when he wants to use them. He's just too used to being spoiled while he's here, and it's starting to rub off at home. His mother and I were just talking about it the other day."

"He's not so bad at school," Sam shrugged as she poured a glass of tea, passing it to Danny when she was done, "He'll take our trays every now and again and stuff like that. He's not _too _lazy."

The teasing smile from Sam and the quiet laughter from Danny indicated otherwise and had the elder Fentons shaking their head. Settling into their meal, the family and friend fell quiet, enjoying the company. About halfway through supper, Sam was rewarded with levitating mash potatoes, quickly followed by an encore act of dancing green beans. The halfa beside her could only laugh as she looked between the ghost powered food and her own plate, now empty of the same dancing and floating items.

"It's safe," Jack bravely pushed the potatoes back into their bowl and covered them with an extra plate, his wife doing the same with the beans, "Floating and dancing food has yet to hurt a Fenton."

"That's what Dad says," Danny poked at his food, a wry grin on his face as he remembered several instances of terror when he was younger, "Jazz used to be my only line of protection when I was little, especially during Thanksgiving when we have turkey."

"Does the turkey dance too?"

"No, it attacks," a bean was flicked Sam's way, and even as he was reprimanded a smile passed between the friends, "I was like five the first time it happened. Jazz is really handy with a broom. In her hands, it's a deadly weapon."

"I'd ask about other holidays, but I'm almost afraid," Sam finished her meal, thankful that nothing else had moved and her stomach still felt fine after digesting the ectoplasmically charged food, "Nothing funny's going to happen to me now right? Random glowing or floating?"

"I'm sure we could arrange that," Danny laughed as his parents shook their heads.

"Nothing will happen," Maddie started her explanation and pushed her empty plate away from herself, "Ectoplasm can be ingested safely in small amounts, such as what we just ate. It's not generally dangerous for humans, with the one exception being a concentrated amount."

"Like a ray shot from a ghost?"

"Exactly," Jack jumped in excitedly, gearing up for a lecture to a now willing Sam. She was genuinely interested and all three Fentons could tell, "Ghosts can easily focus this energy because their bodies are built specifically to gather, contain, and expel it. Think of them like prisms. Light, naturally can't be seen, and neither can ectoplasmic energy. Ghosts act like the prism, gathering in that energy and splitting it into different types of energy we can see, the properties of each showing up as a different ability or skill."

"So, a ghost who can make things fly is using a specific type of energy. The more power they have the more abilities they have, or am I way off base?"

Amazed and grinning faces met Sam's summation, and the Fentons were off again on a new topic. Danny shook his head, as he knew all of this, though only part of it was from being a Fenton himself. The halfa somehow instinctually understood what he could do and how he could perform such feats. If he needed to fly, he bent part of the energy he could feel inside of himself to his will. Another part could be made into visible, dangerous rays, and another could be used for intangibility or invisibility. It came down to finding the correct 'feel' of the ectoplasm housed in his body.

"We're actually studying that idea right now, Sam," it was now Maddie's turn for excitement, "Several ghosts have shown similar powers based on strength ratings. Lower level ghosts can do the basics, such as flying, becoming invisible and intangible, and making things levitate. Higher up, they can shoot ghost rays, or cause strange circumstances to occur."

"Like the wishing ghost," Danny cut in, reminding Sam of the ghost she'd currently met, "She can make wishes come true using her energy. She's dangerous, but since most ghosts usually only have one focus in their afterlives, their easy to fool."

"Right," his mother nodded, glad that her child had apparently listened to their lectures, "The highest level ghosts can do all those things, and have several other skills that we've yet to learn about. Certainly they have a higher pain tolerance and a greater stamina, but that could also be because they so often fight one another. Ghosts tend to be territorial, as you've probably noticed."

"You could say that," the girl shot a look at Danny, wondering if he fell under that category at times, "How have you found all of this out? Observation or actual hands on research?"

"Until this past week it was an observation only study. We could never seem to catch a ghost," the eldest Fenton shook his head, "The ghost kid dropped off another ghost though, left him trapped in a cage. Maddie figures that if they haven't attacked by now, they aren't in cahoots. The Wisconsin ghost, which is what we call him, is probably Phantom's enemy."

"You actually called him Phantom," the halfa looked at his father carefully, picking up his plate and Sam's to move them to the sink, "I thought you hated the ghost kid…"

"Well, I'm a firm believer that ghosts do not change, but Phantom displays several distinct characteristics that are not normal ghost behavior," his mother pointed out, joining him in clearing the table. Sam was on the edge of her seat, rooting for Danny silently as the conversation progressed, "He seems to gain no pleasure in the fear of humans, protects this town even though he doesn't actually haunt it or cause problems usually, and seems to disappear until another ghost arrives and threatens the town. He's done some things that make me weary of him, but he doesn't appear to be completely greed or power driven as most ghosts are. He's powerful, the most powerful ghost in Amity and most likely most of the ghost zone, but he seems to still retain his youthful nature and human characteristics."

"Youthful nature?" was the question out of both teen's mouth as they watched the older couple in slight confusion. After shooting Danny a questioning look, Sam continued with her thoughts on the subject, "Why is it strange that he has a, um, young attitude or human characteristics?"

'I don't understand that either,' the halfa was cautiously watching his parents, trying to understand what they were getting at, 'Is it that I'm not obsessive about one thing, or is it that I can think beyond ruling the world and all that?'

"Studying the Wisconsin ghost has been amazing," Jack grinned, readying his own little speech for the confused pair in front of him. It was one thing to have a new person to talk to about ghosts who was actually interested, but when it was his own son his pride shot through the roof, "Most ghosts are obsessive, compulsive, and rarely think through their plans. Upper level ghosts, such as the one we're studying, have a higher capacity for thought, but are still obsessive in general. This one has seemingly latched on to two ideas; taking over the world, and my Maddie here."

"Don't worry though kids," Maddie interjected in a very motherly tone, "He's nothing we can't handle and he's well contained."

"That's right, but back on track. Even with his higher thought capacity, he still has formed an obsession that overshadows many of his other desires and can distract him from nearly anything," the man was on a roll now, enjoying the double dose of attention from the teenagers, "Phantom, on the other hand, has yet to show a clear obsession."

"Well, other than protecting this town, dear," the dishes were all cleared now, and Maddie was calmly sipping at a glass of water, pondering the ghost in question even as she talked, "He has a full range of personality traits. I've seen him angry, scared, worried, distracted, happy, vengeful, and even sad or upset. All the normal emotions of a human, but the sticking point is, he feels them at the same level as the average human."

"So," Sam was lost by this point, but Danny latched onto his parents' speech easily, "You're saying he feels emotions at the same level as us, but other ghosts are more focused on one or two emotions. They can feel the full range of emotions, but they don't necessarily keep feeling that way for long, or they're not able to feel as deeply as we can?"

"That's one theory," Maddie nodded, "We're honestly not sure how a ghost's psyche might work."

"Maybe it's not that they don't feel like we do, or can't keep up the feelings for long," Sam worded her sentence slowly, knowing what she wanted to say, but unsure of how to phrase it. The elder Fentons were obviously incredibly intelligent, and Danny was showing a side she rarely saw. She knew the halfa was smart, but she had never seen him quite like this, "Maybe it's because they're too focused on what they want. If they don't have an obsession, maybe it lets them feel freely?"

"That's a really good theory actually."

"Why do you say that Danny, dear?"

"Oh, well," he had backed himself into a corner again and was going to have to find a way out. Sam wouldn't really be able to help him out, but more often than not he'd managed to create a plausible excuse, "I just remember this one ghost who showed up at our school dance. She wanted to go to a ball and the next time I saw her, she was really quite and wasn't causing any problems. I just thought that because she'd gotten what she wanted, she finally managed to calm down. Not pass on, but…I guess 'live' happily."

"That is interesting," Jack stood suddenly, heading straight for the fridge, "but I think we've talked enough and my tummy is saying we need some dessert! Who wants fudge?"

A groan from Maddie and Danny had Sam smiling, but when Danny laid his head on the table, mumbling something about 'killer fudge', she had to laugh. Accepting a piece from the man, they both enjoyed the chocolate, Sam thankful that Maddie had found the time to 'whip up something vegan friendly' and Jack happy to have his favorite treat.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"That wasn't too bad was it?"

"No, not too bad," Sam nodded in agreement as she walked towards her home, Danny having chivalrously offering to walk her home, no prodding from his mother needed, "The dancing green beans were a little strange, but as long as I don't start randomly floating I should be fine."

"Floating," the word was repeated with a slight echo to it, and Sam turned to see Danny once again as his alter ego, Phantom, "Hm."

"Hm, what, Danny Phantom?" he was staring hard at her and Sam wasn't sure if the shivers were from the suddenly cold air or the piercingly green eyes trained on her body. He continued to stare for a few seconds, ignoring her question completely, then frowned heavily and furrowed his brow, "Danny? You're staring at me."

"I know," came the terse reply as his frown intensified and Sam started to fear that his eyebrows were going to fall off from the strain, "I'm trying something."

"What, because this is starting to get annoying."

"Just…ah, never mind," he took a step forward and placed on finger on her shoulders, focusing on making her rise off the ground along with him, but failing, "It's not really working anyways."

"For the last time, what?" Sam was beyond annoyed that he'd yet to answer her and they were standing in the middle of the dark street. Violet met green and Danny let a grin slip, shyly grabbing for her hand and tugging her up in the air with him.

"I wanted to make you float," he answered, lazily dragging them towards her home, "I got to thinking about what Mom and Dad had said, about all lower level ghosts being able to do the basics like make things float. I've never been able to do that, or at least, I've never tried until just then. It didn't work, so I tried touching you to see if I could do it…and it still didn't work. It was dumb anyways."

"That's not dumb," she gave his hand a gentle squeeze and enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness that always accompanied flying with the halfa at her side, "You made an attempt and failed, but that doesn't mean you should give up. You didn't get everything right on the first try, or at least that's what Tucker said, so why don't you keep practicing? You know, never say die and all that."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're way too optimistic to be a Goth?" he teased, pulling her up closer and waiting to see her reaction, "Because you are. When I get grumpy, you get happy…so how does that work?"

"I like seeing you suffer?" her tone was equally light, made more so by their proximity. Sam was enjoying every moment of their flight, the chill and height adding to the thrill of the evening and their activity, "Why are we flying anyways?"

"I was trying to figure out a way to throw the flying energy to whatever I want. It's true about ghosts being like a prism, and the energy being used differently. I figured that if I can really focus on what makes me fly, I can figure out how to make something float," his explanation was a ready one, even if it wasn't completely the truth, 'Even though I just really like flying with you, that will do for now…and it's kinda' true.'

"Pencils," Sam said suddenly, startling Danny from his thoughts as they stopped a block or so away from her house. His confusion was evident and Sam tried to keep from smiling, "You should start small. I'm not exactly a cardboard box or a stapler or anything like that. Start with pencils or something, get the hang of that, then work your way up. I'm positive you're…strong enough, or have enough energy or whatever the right word is."

"You think I'm strong," Danny repeated cockily as he started on his way again, his ego stroked for the evening by the beautiful girl in his arms, "I have enough…_energy_."

"Get a life," Sam answered his semi-inappropriate teasing as dead pan as she could be, making Danny burst out laughing at the unintentional joke she had made, "Oh, ha ha, that was such a great pun. Stupid me…"

"That was great, Sam," the finally arrived at her window with his ghostly laughter trailing the wind making more than a few of Sam's neighbors scared to go outside or near their doors or windows to look out, "I'll have to remember that one."

"Gee thanks," she stepped through her window, Danny's hand still firmly held in her own though he was still outside, "Thanks for walking me home."

"Flying too," he reminded her with a smile, "Nothing beats flying. Do you think that someti…."

Danny didn't finish his sentence as he threw himself to the side and brought his hands up to shield himself and Sam from a horrendously loud ectoplasmic shot, 'Thank God I could hear that…'

"What was that? Danny?" Sam was frantic, leaning out of her now open window and reaching for the boy to drag him inside, "Get in here!"

"No way, you'll get shot at," he backed up and accidentally pulled her with him as she had a handful of his jumpsuit, "Shit, hang on!"

Another blast could be heard and Danny wrapped his hands around Sam and drug her downwards, cursing his bad luck and his enemy's bad timing. As soon as they reached the ground, Sam found herself pulled down into it. She knew she had no lungs, needed no air, and certainly wouldn't be buried alive with Danny at her side, but at that moment her mind was telling her something different and her body started to struggle. Hands tightened on her waist and she was pulled back fully against the halfa, a calming whisper coming quickly to her ear, "It's fine Sam, we're just in the dirt, just like passing through a wall. I know it's a little weird the first time, but it's cool. We'll come up in just a second. Just stay quiet, alright?"

Her frantic nod and her hands suddenly clenching his own was a good enough answer, both of their fears somewhat forgotten for a moment as the pair floated snuggly against one another, taking heart in the fact that the other was fine, 'I need to find out who or what that was…'

"Come out Phantom!" the cry came from above them, and Danny cringed. His ex-girlfriend was exactly what he didn't need to see at that moment, "I know you're here, I had you on my tracker, and yours is the only signature it picks up!"

"We're going up, and I'm changing," Danny whispered, wrapping his arms tighter around the girl in front of him, "We'll walk up to your house, just act normal."

"Alright," Sam pulled herself together quickly, the gravity of the situation sinking in as the shock of being pulled under the earth wore off, "Just walking me home, right?"

"Right," and he pulled her along a few feet under the earth to the sidewalk behind her house, then up and changed as quickly as he could, "Home?"

"Home," Sam agreed, not bothering to pull away from the boy behind her. In that instant Valerie burst from the trees to their left, which blocked Sam's side of the house from one of the main roads. The ghost huntress stopped instantly, a whisper of Danny's name leaving her lips as she took in the intimate position she found the pair in. As soon as the halfa's name left her lips, Sam spun out of his grasp with a crimson blush, "It's not like that!"

"Valerie," Danny put on his best confused face, trying to force down the blush she had caused by coming upon them so quickly, "What are you doing?"

"That...that ghost boy was here," the girl landed, her helmet retracting to display a shocked and perhaps hurt face. Anger, however was definitely prevalent in her tone, "I swore his signal showed up here…and how the heck did you know it was me?"

"We dated for a year," he defiantly folded his arms, moving closer to Sam in a conscious show of how uncomfortable his ex was making him, "I think I'd know you voice by now, even if it comes through a helmet."

"Oh," and it was silent, Danny standing beside one girl and calmly looking over the other. The hush was only broken by the wind picking up and gently moving the leaves around them, though that was all it took to force Valerie away from her tumultuous thoughts, "I'll let you get back to whatever. I have a ghost to find and I don't have time for you."

"Good," Sam snorted and forced herself into action, "Just remember, you're not welcome on my property. That includes the air around it. I don't agree with you hunting Phantom, and if I catch you at my house again, I'll have my lawyers draw up a restraining order."

"Like you would," the other girl stepped forward, causing the halfa's jaw to tighten, "Besides, I'm sure mommy and daddy would love to know what their spoiled little brat is doing in the trees behind their house."

"I was walking home, and yes, Danny hugged me from behind," she was coolly standing her ground, and impressing Danny to no end as she lied through her teeth like an expert, "Big whoop, go tell my parents. Just because you see one thing doesn't mean that it's the truth. You've got a bad habit of assuming things."

"_Excuse _me?"

It was starting to get nasty and Danny was mostly ready to end the soon to be catfight as quickly as possible, though a small part of him was completely flattered that two girls were fighting over him, 'Really just a situation involving me and my alter ego, kinda'…this is really weird.'

"Um, it's getting late," the halfa cut in, noting with a wince that it obviously wasn't very tactful. Double glares were aimed his way, though he was sure he would be able to get Sam to forgive him, "I think I was supposed to drop you off like two minutes ago. My parents aren't slackers about curfew like yours are Sam."

"Then let's go," the girl turned sharply and walked off, her dislike of Valerie Gray increased greatly by the altercation of the evening, "I'm ready to be home anyways."

"Okay," the boy meekly started after Sam, not wanting to get on her bad side at the moment. The small smile and wave sent to the other girl did not go unnoticed by Sam as Danny turned to say a quick, civil goodbye, "Bye Val."

"Bye," was the tersely spoken answer from the huntress, her arms folded over her chest in a defensive manner. Once out of sight, the pair listened to the sound of her board taking off, most likely back towards her own home, and let out a sigh of relief at the same time. A laugh bubbled from Danny first for once as a hand ran over his eyes and through his hair, messing it badly as he had the habit to do.

"So," Danny started as he pulled her forward, wondering how he'd managed to drag up the courage to grab her hand, "Sorry about that. You know what they say about crazy ex's and all that."

"It's fine as long as she remembers to stay away from my house," the girl sounded slightly distant, unsure of what had just happened and how Danny had been acting around Valerie, 'He didn't say anything, he just stopped us from fighting with some lame excuse. Does he still like Valerie, or is it that he's still attached to her?'

"I'll try to keep her away then, distract her or something."

"That's not the point, Danny," Sam stopped on the first step to her front door, wondering about the boy in front of her, "I don't want you to have to _do _anything; I just want her to stay away. If you want to come see me or whatever, then I don't want her breathing down my neck about it or ruining my house, and I'd like to think that it's a safe place for you to just be yourself…whichever self you want to be at that moment."

"So, you want me to come and visit you?" Danny was grinning wickedly now, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, even as he took in all she said, 'That's actually one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. Somewhere safe to just be me is kind of a new concept.'

"Leave it to a boy to latch on to that part," she was blushing now and rolling her eyes as she mumbled this and turned away, "I'll see you later."

"How about, five minutes later?" the halfa caught her arm before she reached the door and gently tugged her to a stop, "I don't really have to be home and I could use that safe place to rest, you know. That gun and tracking device Valerie had was new, and I don't really feel like being out and about until I know she's home."

"How will you know she's home?"

"I dated her for long enough to know how long it would take her to get home from just about anywhere in town," he was starting to wonder if Sam really wanted him to stay, "I could just go though, I mean, either way it doesn't matter. I was just messing around really."

"No you weren't," it was Sam's turn to hold Danny back from leaving, her eyes intent on his own, "Like I said before, you don't lie very well. If you want to stay, just say so. I honestly don't care."

"Alright, I'll meet you upstairs," he started to pull away, but was again held back, "What?"

"You can just walk up like a normal person. It's only eight thirty and I doubt my parents are even home to care," she turned and pushed the door open then, dragging Danny along behind her, "They're usually with friends or out shmoosing the other rich people of the world," here they traveled up the stairs, Sam still trying to convince the halfa that he wasn't going to die by walking into her house, "It'll be fine"

Of course, the peace ended a half second later.

"Or," Sam stopped and dropped Danny's hand as they entered the hallway leading to her room, "They could be home and this could totally look like something that it's not."

The teens had happened upon Sam's parents coming out of their bedroom with a pair of suitcases and a few staff following behind them with even more luggage. The look on the elder couple's face was priceless, and Sam was doing her best to fight the laughter that was going to bubble out. Caught twice in one evening in a compromising situation was a little ridiculous, 'Of course, being around Danny has mostly been one huge weird situation, so I'm not really that surprised.'

"Um, hi," the boy chipped in, trying to rectify the unusual situation and carefully staying behind Sam as her parents began to glare wholeheartedly at him, "I was just visiting, and I can leave right now if you want."

"Mom, Dad," Sam elbowed him hard, hoping that he would get the hint and act accordingly, "This is Danny Fenton, of the Fenton Works Fentons. They own a research company and are a government funded agency enlisted to help fight ghosts. Danny this is my mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy and Pam Manson."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," Pam stepped forward with her hand held out, and Danny gently took it in his own with a sideways glance to Sam. He didn't shake her hand, but rather held it gently and nodded his head, mimicking Sam carefully, and thankfully it appeared to be the right thing to do, "You are in the same grade as our daughter?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied quickly, withdrawing his hand and stepping back from the glare still coming from Sam's dad, "I think I've actually been in a few classes with her before, but I never really got to know her until this year."

"I see," Jeremy Manson finally spoke, arms folded and a very unhappy look on his face as he glanced between the two teens, "You two were on your way where, exactly?"

"Just up to my room," Sam frowned and copied her father perfectly, arms folded and that same unhappy downwards turn of the mouth. Danny looked between the pair with a small smile, enjoying the fact that he finally knew where some of Sam's characteristic gestures came from, "I can't have a friend over to visit? You're always harping on me to have people over and now that I finally decided I have a friend trustworthy enough to like me for me and not for my money, you complain? That's not exactly fair."

"Sammy-kins, why did your first friend over to the house have to be a boy though?" her mother was cajoling, trying to defuse the situation but still show her support for her husband, "We want for you to make friends with girls as well sweetheart. It's just not done to…bring a boy who is a friend to your room."

"This isn't the eighteen hundreds, Mom," the girl rolled her eyes, well aware of the glare sent Danny's way by her father and the fact that the boy was currently hiding behind her, "I'll even leave my door open if you want me to. The staff can sit in with us if you want."

"Well, I'm sure that won't be necessary," Pam was checking her watch nervously, hastily reaching forward to pull her daughter's cheek to her lips for a quick peck, "We have to run sweetie. Boys out of the house by ten if you would, and make sure the staff sees him go," a pointed look was sent towards one butler who nodded, "We'll be in New York for a few days."

"We can cancel," her father cut in, still not entirely happy with the situation. It was his only child, his little girl, after all, "I'm sure the Vanderbilts won't mind."

"I really can just leave," Danny finally got fed up with the Mansons dancing around the issue, "No problems doing that, and I don't want you to cancel your trip just because I'm here. I'll see you at school Sam."

"No," said girl grabbed his hand and pushed her way past both parents and staff, "We'll be in my room. Alone, with the door closed, and with loud music playing. He'll be gone when he feels like it. Have a great trip."

"Samantha," her father called, but gave up as her door slammed, "Just make sure he's gone by ten."

"Of course, sir," the staff began to follow them down the stairs, their own thoughts on what just happened kept silent. The elder Mansons left, the staff went to their own rooms, and not another thought was giving to the two teens upstairs. Sam Manson was well able to take care of herself as they all knew, and she wasn't likely to do anything like that. They weren't worried, and if her parents knew their daughter better, they wouldn't have been either.

Upstairs in her room, Sam turned on her stereo with a remote then tossed it violently across the room, her anger at both Valerie and her own parents coming out full force as she raged for a moment. Danny sat quietly watching, letting her get it out of her system before he became her next target. As soon as their eyes locked, Danny smiled and Sam felt horrible about her tantrum, 'I'm acting like a five year old. That's just great.'

"Sorry," she apologized and went to retrieve the remote, only to find it in Danny's hands, "Thank you."

"It's cool," he shrugged, "We all do that sometimes. I threw my chair across the room once and it left a hole in the wall…my parents weren't too happy with that. Kinda' embarrassing admitting I did something like that, but I figured it'd help."

"A little," she chuckled, sinking to sit on her bed with the halfa following suit, "Why'd you throw your chair?"

"Heh, well," he turned away slightly, not quite ready to admit to this truth yet, though he had no doubt that Sam would weasel it out of him, "I was a little angry…and impatient, I guess you could say."

"Why?"

'Yep, she's going to make me tell her, so I might as well. Hope it doesn't freak her out,' he grinned then, sheepishly, and moved off her bed and across the room. What he was admitting to wasn't just embarrassing, but would probably make her uncomfortable, "You sure you want to know?"

A nod and a raised eyebrow was all the answer he got, but it spoke volumes, "Well, um, about five months ago or so, I kinda'…heh, I kinda' made a move on Valerie, kinda'. Um, I was tired of just kissing, you know?"

"And she said no?" Sam was feeling a little strange about this conversation, but she figured that friends would talk about these things, 'Besides, it's my own stupid fault for asking.'

"Yeah," he winced, "but it wasn't just a 'No, we shouldn't do that' it was more a huge, dramatic blow up. It wasn't like I was asking her to have sex or anything, I just…I dunno'."

The lame ending statement was followed with a shrug, and Sam felt sorry for the boy. Being with and caring for a person for a year and still only holding hands and kissing seemed a little silly to her, "Is she afraid of intimacy or something?"

"No," he chuckled, feeling a little better talking to Sam, "It was more like she was tired from hunting Phantom and wanted to just sit around. She never wanted to do…stuff, but she always wanted attention and to go out and all that normal girlfriend stuff."

"I can see why you'd be angry, but I don't think you were impatient," the awkwardness of the conversation was rising, but Sam forged ahead, hoping that she could help him out a little, "I think your chair throwing was justified."

"You're just saying that because you didn't have to pay for the repairs," he rolled his eyes, jumping up to sit cross legged in the air, a pencil off Sam's desk held between two fingers, "Anyways, I shouldn't have pushed it. We didn't talk about it after that either, and everything just went downhill from there."

"Sounds like it," she watched amusedly as he twirled the pencil and started to focus on it, "Trying to make it levitate?"

"Yeah, figured we could use a change of topic," the light blush dusting his cheeks was cute, and left Sam pondering everything he'd been through with Valerie, 'Is that why he hasn't tried to kiss my cheek again? Or maybe I'm totally interpreting that wrong and he really did just want to thank me…but he's held my hand…great, this is way confusing.'

"I think I've figured this out," Danny was suddenly right in front of her, holding the pencil in the palm of his hand, "Watch."

Sam watched, and then watched some more, "Okay…"

"Did you see it?"

"No," she bit back a smile, trying not to laugh at the floating boy.

"Wait, come here," Sam found herself dragged from her bed to her desk, the pencil laid carefully on it, "Check this out. It's like Star Wars."

"Star Wars," Sam watched as Danny held his hand a few inches from the pencil, "Right."

"Yep," he grinned as the pencil twitched slightly, jerking a bit towards his hand. The shock on Sam's face was worth the amount of effort he was putting into moving the small item, "Told you so."

"Don't say that," Sam moved closer and reached down to touch the pencil, picking it up and feeling a slight pull on it as Danny kept trying to move it, "It feels like someone is tugging on it…this is really freaky, but really cool."

"Wait until Tucker sees," the boy's grin was a bit on the malicious side and brought images of pranks to Sam's mind, "He's going to freak."

The pencil was suddenly tugged from Sam's hand and flew into Danny's own, "I think it got it down now."

"I think so," Sam looked down at her hand. It was tingling slightly and she'd felt a tiny tug, only not from the pencil pulling away. It was as if invisible strings had attached themselves to her and were pulled, her hand moving slightly in response. Studying her hand left time for Danny to continue playing with the pencil and after only a few moments more it was floating an inch off of his palm, spinning gently, "You figured that out really quickly."

"Part of it's just instinct," the halfa replied, tilting his head and making the pencil stand straight on it's tip, "I usually learn stuff like this pretty quickly now. Granted, the first couple of months I was really clumsy and couldn't control most of what I did. It was like being a little kid and learning how to walk and write, and now that I'm older I can just do it without thinking."

"You tugged my hand too," Sam cut in, still looking over her own right hand, "I felt almost like a puppet with someone tugging on my strings, and before you say anything, no you weren't pulling my strings, it was a different metaphor."

"I did?" Her last statement was completely lost in the boy's excitement and Sam found herself sitting back on the edge of her bed with Danny placing the pencil back in her hand, "I'm going to do it again, but this time don't let go. I'll see if I can figure out how I did that with your hand."

"Alright," she agreed, only slightly uncomfortable with how it had felt. Being controlled was something Sam hated the thought of for some reason, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why it scared her so greatly, 'Ever since freshman year, I've hated the idea of it. Hated the thought that a ghost could overshadow me…and I don't know why.'

The pencil was tugged on again, gently at first, but then a little harder as Danny frowned, trying to figure out how he'd made Sam feel as though her hand was being moved. Five minutes later found a frustrated Danny pacing around a few inches off the floor, his thunderous mood reflected by his quite fuming. Sam just sat with the pencil, twirling it between her fingers. He'd managed to move the pencil easily, but her hand had proved to be a fluke. He'd yet to move it again and Danny was beyond upset with himself for failing so completely.

"Stop pacing already and sit down or something," Sam moved across the room, bored with Danny's brooding, and slammed the pencil on her desk, "If I'd known you'd get all depressed over this, I would never have suggested it. You moved the stupid pencil, you should be happy."

"Yeah, well," he sunk to the floor heavily behind Sam, leaning his head against her shoulder in an act of dejection, "You try being told you can't do something basic that just about every other person in the world can do and then find out that they're right, and you see how happy you are about it."

"You just did it though," Sam rolled her eyes and shrugged him off her shoulder, going back to sit on her bed with a pouting halfa trailing behind her, "Stop pouting."

"What, no sympathy at all?" he cocked an eyebrow at her, still in a bad mood over the 'levitation disaster' as Sam was beginning to think of it, "I made you feel better earlier about your little temper tantrum."

"Yeah thanks," she blushed and pushed him off her bed, a satisfying thud signaling his butt meeting the floor, "You're a real pal, thanks for bring that up. Maybe you're just cranky because you need sleep or something. If you want sympathy you'll have to find it elsewhere."

"I guess," his voice came from the floor and Sam peeked over the edge of her bed to find him laying down, his arms folded behind his head, "Sorry I'm in a bad mood…I just really hate not getting something right off the bat. I've had plenty of sleep though, so no nap needed. It's been a really great week actually…best one I've had since I became a halfa. With Vlad out of the way, I don't have to worry about that as much, and the ghosts seem to be taking a break…with the exception of Technus. Caught him earlier."

"He's the one who messed with Tucker's stuff today, huh?"

"Yeah," Danny laughed, remembering several fights where it was Tucker who would shut down the technology obsessed ghost, "Him and Tucker are kinda' rivals. They respect each other, but have no problem taking the other down. It's funny sometimes."

"I can imagine," she shifted to lay on her stomach, head propped up in her hands so she could look over the side of her bed, "You two have been through a lot together. He's told me a lot of interesting stories over lunch whenever you're gone you know."

"Good stories or bad?"

"Both," Sam shrugged as Danny winced, "He's really explained a lot that you either won't or didn't think to tell me. I don't know all your fights or anything like that, but he's told me about a lot of the major events that have happened. Ember, taking over town hall, and stuff like that. We still haven't gone over that one plant ghost or the Guys in White, or whatever. I figure we'll get there eventually."

"Yeah, well Tuck doesn't know everything," Danny sighed heavily and reached up, palm towards Sam's desk. The pencil zipped across the room, landing neatly in the halfa's opened hand. A smug grin was sent the girl's way, making her shake her head and laugh, "And he's really going to wish he did one of these days."

"Some days I can't decide if you're a good guy who likes to play bad boy," Sam rolled her eyes heavenwards, "Or if you're really a bad guy who likes to play superhero."

"You figured out my secret," he sighed heavily, shaking his head as he popped up and grabbed at Sam, sending her scrambling backwards with a laugh, "I'll just have to drop you out the window or something now."

"Bring it on," she pushed off her bed and stood, arms folded as she sent him a cool glare, "You wouldn't dare because you're too nice."

"Oh I'm too nice?" his eyes flared green for less than a second, then turned blue, though it was a far brighter and lighter blue than Sam had ever seen before. The temperature in the room dropped immediately, dramatically, and Sam watched as her breath escaped in a puff of fog. Looking around the room, several items were beginning to frost, and the bottle of water kept by her bedside was frozen solid. Turning back, she found Danny gone, and rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that night.

"Don't think I don't know what game you're play, Danny," Sam folded her arms and tried to tap her foot, only to find her boots frozen to the floor, "I take it back! You _are _immature, you jerk!"

A shouted, "BOO!" behind her had Sam jumping and nearly falling on her face, due to her frozen shoes. Thankfully, two warm arms caught her before her face met the side of her bed, and Sam was saved a bruised nose. The tiny scream that had worked her way out of her mouth without her mind's permission had an invisible halfa laughing his head off, and Sam was suddenly ready to pummel the boy holding her up.

"That was priceless!" he crowed as he tried to get his laughter under control, letting his hold on the ice in the room slip. It was gone within seconds, and Sam jerked herself out of his grasp, only to overbalance and fall, twisting herself at the last moment to keep her head from hitting the hard edge of her bed frame, "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," the teen ground out, her hair falling over her face to hide her blush as she began to push herself up, 'I'm going to kill him. I can't believe he just did that! I'm so freaking mad right now!'

"Sam, I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd get that scared, but it was funny," he was on his knees in front of her, mimicking her own position and reaching out with a hand to pull her chin up, "I was just playing, I didn't mean for you to fall, but you pulled away…"

"It's fine," Sam moved her head sharply, pulling her face away from his hand, "but I'm really angry at you right now for that. I can't believe you did that, you jerk."

"Sorry," the halfa scooted slightly closer, fearing that he'd hurt their budding friendship somehow, "Can I make it up to you? Um…do your homework or something?"

"You don't ever finish yours, Danny," she sighed heavily and kept her face away, until his fingers cupped her chin once again and moved her face back, "Danny?"

"I really am sorry," he was leaning towards her while he spoke, sitting up off his knees and using one hand to balance as he did so. Pulling her forward slightly, their lips touched and before Sam could register what had happened he was gone from her sight, though she still felt chilled fingers on her face. Swallowing hard she brought her own hand up in a questioning search and found the soft material of his shirt still in front of her where his chest should have been, were he visible.

"That would be my chest," his voice came from nowhere it seemed, and Sam shut her eyes, took back her hand, and let out a small giggle at how strange the entire day had been. The boy removed his hand as she did and Sam felt some of the cold slip away, "Are you laughing at me because I kissed you or because I disappeared? Not that either one is a great thing to laugh about…"

"No, it's not that," she finally opened her eyes to find Danny sitting in front of her, shifting uncomfortably as he glanced at her from under his bangs, "I've never made a boy disappear before is all. This whole day has been weird. Dancing green beans and Valerie and now this…"

"Bad weird?" Danny asked, but had a feeling that it wasn't a bad thing at all with the way Sam was smiling, "Or maybe good weird…because there's a lot of that in my life."

"I'll let you figure that one out," Sam answered, a gentle look about her eyes and lips as they knelt across from one another on her floor. Neither was sure what to do next, but Danny had a pretty good idea, and was about to instigate another small kiss when a knock was heard on Sam's door. Laughing, they both stood up and Sam called out for the person knocking to enter.

"Miss Sam, it's nearly ten," the butler whom her parents had spoken to earlier was standing with a kind smile on his face, "I know you're parents aren't here and that you've done nothing wrong, but I believe it best to follow their wishes, and for your young gentleman friend to leave. I do know, however, that your parents said nothing about him coming back over at another time."

"Thank you Harry," Sam smiled, and pulled her door open the rest of the way, looking over her shoulder at Danny, "Time for you to go. Harry's the man of the house right now."

"Got it," Danny laughed, watching as Harry the butler moved aside and started back down the hall, "Guess I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Probably, unless you have to run off again," Sam started down the hall with her friend at her side, a silence falling over them as they started down the stairs, 'My friend who I just kissed…no, who just kissed me. What now?'

A hand slipped into Sam's just before she reached for the doorknob and made her pause. She turned with a curious look and a smile, to find Danny smiling nervously, "I just wanted to tell you, that if what…you know, what happened, wasn't something you wanted…ah, I won't do it again. If it was weird, 'cause we're friends or something."

"It was nice, Danny," Sam tried to reassure the boy in front of her, hoping that what she said would help him understand that she wanted something to be between them as well, "Even if it was a little unexpected."

"Unexpected, huh?" he laughed as she opened the door and he stepped outside, still a little unsure, and praying that he hadn't made a horrible mistake. A nod and a mischievous grin was his answer and the door was slowly closed in his face. Confusion was the main theme in his thoughts, Danny not really knowing what to do, and so he turned and started to walk towards home, hands in his pockets as he tried to figure out Sam's statement.

A grin split his face a few seconds later as he swung his head up to look towards Sam's window and found her light still on, the girl's shadow moving across the room, 'She did say it was nice…and it definitely was. When I said it was the best week I'd ever had, I didn't think I would really mean it.'

His hand came up to scratch at his messy hair before he lost himself in his thoughts, and before he knew it he was home, a smile permanently plastered on his face. His parents didn't even bother to ask where he'd been. They figured it out all on their own, and shared their own smile between them.

Things were definitely looking up in the world of Danny Fenton.


	20. Flirtations

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Um, er…not edited and um…very long. Sorry it took so long to get it out…life, like Danny and Sam point out in this particular chapter, is hectic.

Lots of love to you all and thank you so very much for your continued patience and feedback. I always get Valerie a little OOC, so please forgive me…nobody's perfect, eh?

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Twenty: Flirtations **

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Detention, again, and on a Monday?" Danny asked the question that had been burning in his mind for the last hour; finally able to do so without the wrath of Lancer falling on his head, "What'd you do this time? Not indecent exposure I hope."

"Shut up, Danny," Sam threw a paperback book at the boy, hoping he wouldn't duck. The halfa had other plans however and Tucker was nailed instead, his glasses skittering away from him and across the hall, "Tuck! I'm sorry, are you alright?"

"Fine, fine," he jogged up the hall to retrieve his much needed eyewear, inspecting them for damage and thankfully not finding any, "Just make sure that Danny doesn't use his super reflexes to dodge next time you do it."

"There's no way I'm not going to dodge, or catch, when something comes flying at me and I see it," the halfa opened his locker and began to dig for a book he'd need to read out of for the night. Finding his history text, he set about dredging up notes from the bottom of his locker, hoping that he'd paid attention for long enough to write down the page numbers he would need, "It's instinct."

"Speaking of instinct," Sam leaned back against the lockers beside Tucker, sending a grin towards the other boy, "Danny learned something new, and for once, I was the one to witness it."

"Sam," an annoyed face appeared around the side of the locker door, only an inch away from her own, "You weren't supposed to tell him."

"Oh, man, now I gotta' know," the teenager was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he looked between Sam and Danny. Sam simply continued to smirk while Danny's frown grew, a pout soon taking over his face which Sam easily resisted, "You're gonna' tell me, right Sammy-Sam-Sam?"

"Only if you agree to never call me that again, Tucky-Tuck-Tuck," she finally turned away from the pouting boy, much to his consternation, and faced a boy who was grinning like a fool, "Danny learned how to do something basic."

"And that is…?" Tucker waved one of his hands in a leading motion, trying to get Sam to reveal more. It was unusual that Danny would discover something around someone other than himself, and so it was interesting to hear the appearance of a new ability from a different point of view, "You said you'd tell me."

"I said I'd tell you if you never called me that again," she answered, ignoring the invisible, deathly cold finger that had started to poke her shoulder a moment ago. A few seconds later, her shoulder was quite sore, and she decided she had had enough, "Danny, stop poking me!"

"What?" his head appeared around the locker door again, confusion evident on his face, "I'm not poking you."

"You have to be…," she trailed off as he held up both hands and the poking continued, "You're not splitting yourself or levitating something are you?"

"No," he drew the word out, then jerked his head back in surprise as a mist escaped his mouth, "but I bet someone else is."

"Did you just say levitating?" Tucker smiled happily as Danny changed quickly and reached out by where Sam's shoulder was. The halfa pulled his hand back with a shout and shook it, muttering about being bitten.

"Yeah," she watched as the halfa's face fell into an angry glower, his fist coming up in an ectoplasmically charged punch that looked as though it was aimed straight for her, 'I know he's not going to hit me, but that is the scariest thing I have ever seen…'

The punch went straight past Sam and slammed something into a locker, a young boy of eight or nine popping back into sight with a parrot skeleton on his shoulder. Danny just shook his head and folded his arms as the young child rubbed a sore skull and frowned up at the teen, "You're not supposed to hit so hard."

"You're not supposed to go around poking people," Danny thankfully took the thermos from Tucker who was worriedly watching a pale Sam, "See ya' kiddo."

"Sam," Tucker put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle shake to which she jerked back from. The thermos hummed its tune and drew in the young ghost while Danny watched his two friends interact, "You alright? You look awful."

"Gee thanks," she finally pushed his hands off her shoulders, and blew back the annoying stray lock of hair she could never get rid of, "First I get a really angry looking Danny Phantom throwing a punch at me, not to mention the fact that he's sorta' scary when he's angry, then I get one of my best friends telling me I look awful. My day, after detention for…running late this morning, and…and forgetting to do my homework last night, has been terrific."

"It could be worse," Tucker chimed in, laying a gentle hand on Sam's shoulder and taking note of Danny's eyes suddenly glowing a bit brighter, "You could have been me and had all your electronic stuff messed with this weekend. I still can't find my PDA and I'm going nuts without it."

"Somehow, I think I'd live without my electronics, Tuck," Sam rolled her eyes in mock disgust, then turned a beautiful smile to the boy, "Thanks for trying though, I do feel a little better."

"Did I scare you because you thought I was going to hit you?" the floating boy sank to the ground, watching Tucker as he kept his hand where it was in a show of support. Danny was pretty sure that Tucker wasn't interested in Sam, but it still rubbed him the wrong way that the other boy was so open and touchy-feely, "I wouldn't. Ever."

"I know that, but you have to realize that when you're standing next to your locker and _Phantom _throws a punch in your general direction with this really angry scowl and green energy around his fist, it's sort of freaky, Danny," Sam calmly moved from Tucker to rest a hand on Danny's forearm, "I know you wouldn't hurt me. You just have to remember that this ghost stuff is all sort of new to me. I've never had you throw a punch at my general area before."

"Well, there wa-," Tucker's mouth was suddenly covered by a white gloved hand, the angry glare he was receiving ten times as bad as the one that Sam had seen, "Tuck. That's enough."

"Right," the other boy rolled his eyes, pushing his friend away from him slightly, "So, who's up for the Nasty Burger?"

"I'm not really that hungry, thanks," Sam seemed distant again, as though a little unsure of herself, and Danny followed her with his eyes as she started off and rounded the corner, "I'll catch you guys later…go do that male bonding thing or something."

"Do you think I really freaked her out that much?" the halfa changed back, not feeling comfortable in his ghostly form for too long in the school, "She's been in fights with me, but I've never had to…fight something behind her or anything like that."

"She's just not used to it," Tucker pushed Danny's locker closed for him, observing his best friend with a cool look as Danny watched the empty hallway, "Sorry about what I almost said. I wasn't thinking…I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt anything to tell her though."

"The less this town actually knows about everything that has happened, the better," he tiredly ran a hand over his eyes, mimicking his best friend's position against the lockers, "She doesn't need to know, and I don't think she'd take it very well. What if she was afraid of me? Or if she thought that I was just her friend to watch her and make sure nothing happened again or something stupid like that?"

"I won't say anything, so no worries," Tucker shrugged, unsure of what to do to help Danny out of his sudden funk, 'He gets in these moods a lot, but it hasn't happened lately…at least that I'm aware of. I'm happy he has Sam too now, having just one friend and a sister to help him out just wasn't enough.'

"Well, let's go," a tired sigh snapped Tucker from his thoughts, and both boy's moved off with their backpacks over one shoulder and their hands shoved in their pockets, "Nasty Burger time."

"If you want to catch her, you're fast enough."

Danny turned to see Tucker with his hand out, waiting for the other boy to hand over his backpack if he wanted. They stood for a moment, looking over the other until a smile broke out on both their faces and Danny waved him off and started to run, "I'm fast enough like that, sure, but it'd probably be cooler if I could manage to catch her like this!"

Tucker chuckled and watched him race off, 'That's the Danny I knew in middle school. Good to have him back.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Sam!" She was just ahead of him now, and if he put on an extra burst of speed he just might manage to overtake her, "Hey, wait up!"

"Danny?"

"Geeze, you either walk really fast," he was huffing by now, bending over his knees to try and catch his breath as Sam watched in confusion, "Or you ran part of the way. I didn't think I'd catch you."

"I jogged part of the way," Sam tilted her head down to catch sight of his blue eyes, trying to judge his mood from them, "Sorry, I didn't know you wanted me to wait. You didn't say anything in the hall."

"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to want you to wait."

"Um, I wanted you to want me to wait, but I wasn't sure if you wanted me to want that."

Danny's head slowly angled up a bit and he came nose to nose with Sam, literally. They paused for a moment before they both burst out laughing, Danny falling backwards to sit and Sam pulling away with her arms over her stomach, holding her sides as they ached from the strength of her mirth. A few more seconds was spent catching their breath before Sam motioned with her head to a bench across the street. The pair moved quickly to sit, and as Sam arranged her skirt, Danny fiddled with the front fringe of his hair, trying to tame at least some small part of it.

"So," Sam started slowly, "What was Tucker going to say? I know you don't want to tell me, but maybe I should know."

"It's nothing really," Danny shrugged lightly, averting his eyes to watch the clouds overhead, "I'll tell you one of these days, I promise."

"Alright," she wisely let it drop, ready to move on to a more important topic. She wasn't going to let the boy go around thinking she was afraid of him if she could help it, "Who was that ghost you caught at school?"

"He's a brat called Youngblood," the halfa shivered, remembering the failed trip with his parents where the ghost was first encountered, "One hard hit and he's whiny, pouty, and easy to catch. Sometimes. I think he was just distracted because there was a pretty girl around."

"Danny," Sam frowned even as she blushed from the compliment. The halfa smiled gently, melting as he watched the young woman beside him. A quick puff of hair relieved her eyes of that stray bit of hair, and had her blushing even more as his smile turned into a smirk.

'Yep, got it bad,' he mentally sighed, wondering just what he was doing, 'I kissed her yesterday. I really want to kiss her again, but now it seems awkward. This is going to be harder than I thought last night…'

"Want to know why I really got detention?"

"I thought you said you didn't finish your homework and were late?" he leaned over a bit to see her face, the blush not dissipating at all, "What'd you do?"

"Lancer caught me ripping a dance poster off my locker this morning," a frown appeared and her lips drew downwards. The change from cute embarrassment to angry dejection was rapid, but Danny was used to rapid fire mood changes; he did live with two women after all, "Someone plastered the stupid thing right over my lock, and I was running late so I tore it off. He thought I was protesting or something, and told me I should be ashamed for wasting paper."

"You're kidding," Danny let out a small laugh, sliding his hand over to grasp her smaller one, "You're like the only person at school who actually recycles. Mr. Lancer knows that, doesn't he? And besides that, why would you protest a dance?"

"Because it's an archaic ritual for the elite upper echelon to strut about and parade their wealth. Dances like this encourage social class separation," a deep breath was drawn here, and Danny realized she was either gearing herself up or trying to settle herself down, "In a nutshell it's just a stupid reason for teens to get together, show off, and act like idiots."

"It's not really showing off, it's just having fun," he gently let his thumb run over the back of her hand, enjoying it this time just as he had the last, "It's for all four grades, since the school board decided it wasn't fair for the juniors and seniors to attend prom and sophomores and freshmen had nothing to end the year with. End of Year dance is always fun, Sam, you should go and see."

"I don't know," the girl sighed heavily, "I mean, why would I want to go to a dance?"

"To have fun?"

"Wait, was that sarcasm out of you mouth Danny Fenton?" Sam pulled her hand back in mock surprise, "I'll have to mark the calendar, you actually managed to top me on sarcasm today."

"I think I just lost the lead," the boy glumly sank back, his arms spreading across the back of the seat as nonchalantly as he could manage, 'Hope she doesn't notice, hope she doesn't say anything, and most of all hope she doesn't make fun of me for pulling this…'

"Is Tuck still going to the Nasty Burger?"

"I dunno'," Danny thought for a second, then shot up with a shinning smile, a plan suddenly popping into his head, "but you and me could go to the dance."

"Sure, sounds good," she answered automatically, then stopped herself and slowly turned her head up to the boy in front of her. Blue eyes were shining with a youthful enthusiasm, hope clear as he practically begged her silently. When he looked ready to get down on his knees, Sam popped up herself and shook her head, "Wait, I thought you said we could go to the Nasty Burger, not the dance. You tricked me into that one, I didn't know what I was saying!"

"You still said yes," he teased and did a small victory dance that had Sam laughing, "I finally get to take a girl to a dance who's not a dragon! Score one for the halfa!"

"A dragon?" Sam watched with interest, sitting down as a memory of freshman year rumors of the ghost boy fighting a dragon at the school dance came back to her, "So there really was a dragon at the dance? I always thought that someone had gotten high or drunk or something and there was mass hysteria."

"No, there was really a dragon," he rolled his eyes and sat back down with his arms spread again, his right hand lightly resting on her shoulder now, "She's actually a nice person, um, ghost once you get to know her and get her past the whole, 'I want to go to the ball' thing. A lot of ghosts are actually like that though. Get past their obsessions and they're just like anyone else. My parents don't seem to realize that yet."

"I'm sure they'll get it," she was perfectly aware of where the young man's hand was, and scooted slightly closer, wondering if he noticed and if it would make him nervous. Her delight was great when he pulled his hand back, 'You're not the only one that can play that game, Danny. You kissed me last night, and now you can't sit next to me without being nervous? You're not as tough as you think.'

Sam turned her head and sent the halfa a small smirk, her eyes laughing even as she kept her cool. Letting out a sheepish laugh, Danny let his hand fall back on her shoulder and pulled her closer against him, reveling in the sensation of the young woman being tucked against his side, "We going to the dance?"

"I suppose I could manage that," Sam shook her head and turned away slightly, "My Mom is going to freak…I'll probably end up in something hideously pink and fluffy with lots of lace and bows. I can just see it now…I'll be a walking, pink, marshmallow. Add in the fact that Sam Manson is actually _going_ to a dance, _with_ a boy, and I'll be the talk of the school."

"It won't be that bad," Danny waved his other hand, his right still firmly secured on her shoulder, "It's more of a group thing, than a um, than a date or anything. Tucker finally found someone to take to one of these things, and he didn't really want to go it alone. He actually told me to ask if you'd go so we'd be in a group."

"A double date then," the girl nodded, thinking over it. It was well known that the two boys had adopted her into their little group, so going to the dance with them, as a group, wouldn't be so rumor worthy. The rumors would more be about Tucker and who he was taking, more so if she and Danny acted as friends, "Maybe it won't be so horrible after all. Who's Tucker taking?"

"That's the weird part," Danny laughed and sat up to stretch, then leaned forward over his knees to better look up into Sam's face, "He won't tell me. Flat out refuses and every time I try to find out, he changes the subject. I actually wasn't going to go this year, but I figured it would be worth any ghostly happenings to see who Tucker snagged."

"So a mysterious date for Tucker, a first dance for me, and ghostly activity more than likely to occur," Sam leaned her head back to watch the clouds as Danny had done earlier, "Sounds like a wonderful night for a young lady to go dancing."

"Um, Dora the dragon promised to stay out of it this year, if that's any help."

"Your life," Sam shook her head, thinking over how strange everything had become over the past few months, "is weird."

"Weird, but fun," Danny leaned towards her, his breath brushing over the side of her face and neck, "And besides, it's pretty much your life too now, so you might as well deal with it."

Turning her head slightly, Sam found the tip of her nose kissed and she was pulled up off the bench before she could comment or react. A quick check around them found no one nearby, and Danny changed and pulled Sam into the air, a grin splitting his face happily as he flew her towards the Nasty Burger to hopefully meet up with Tucker, 'I never meant to get another person involved Sam, but I'm glad it was you who did.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Wow.'

The first thought in Danny's head when he went to pick up Sam for school that Friday morning was easily discerned by the look on his face. Sam pulled a grimace, crossing her arms in stubbornness and abject detest for the object in front of her. Danny raised a confused eyebrow and eyed the item with a cross of confusion and distrust.

"Wow," he finally voiced his thoughts, "I think I'd get lost in that thing."

"I already have when my Mom wanted me to try it on at like five this morning," the glare sent to the pink dress in front of Sam would have ignited it if it was possible. Sam desperately wished that it was possible, "I'm not going to the dance."

"Wait, what?" he was suddenly in a panic, as talking Sam out of something once her mind was made up was nearly impossible, "You have to go, you said you would, and besides, we still have to find out who Tuck's taking. I've been bothering him about it all week, and I know you have too, and we still don't know!"

"I'll find out later or something," the dress was flung across the room and onto her bed, landing on Danny's head where he was sitting, "It looks better on you than on me anyways."

"You still have time to get another dress or…spray paint this one or something," he held it up, at arms length lest it suddenly decide to try to devour him, "I'd go for another dress though…this one might try to suffocate you if you try to alter it."

"Tell me about it," Sam sat heavily at her computer, clicking the mouse every few seconds as Danny played with the hem of the dress he was holding, reveling in destroying the ugly garment, "Alright, I think I can go."

"Huh?"

"I think I can go, it should get here by this afternoon, and Mom and Dad don't open the packages I order, so I'll be safe," she swung her chair around, laughing at the sight of Danny shredding her ugly dress, "Thanks for getting rid of that thing for me."

"It's a menace to society," he nodded seriously, making Sam laugh again, "It needed to be destroyed."

"Leave the dress and lets go to school," she grabbed for her backpack and started towards the door, "Let's see how many people we can freak out. They're going to be trying to figure out how and when you came up to my room all day."

"You're evil sometimes, Sam," he shook his head, knowing that Sam enjoyed being mysterious, even if she would never admit to it, "You're rubbing off on me though, because I kinda' want to do it. Poor, poor people…"

Opening the door, Danny bowed elegantly and Sam walked out with her nose in the air, laughing when Danny scrambled to grab his bag and catch up with her, "Wonder if the teachers are actually going to try to have class today or just let us talk about the dance. Lancer will make us work, but some of the other probably won't care at all."

"Who knows," Sam shrugged, then smiled at one of the maids who was watching them walk down the hallway with the most adorably lost look on her face, "Morning Sarah, have you been up here the whole time?"

"Yes Miss Sam, but how did…?" she looked down, then shook her head, "Silly me, I went downstairs for a bit, so never mind. I was so sure though…"

As soon as the maid went into another room, Danny and Sam started down the stairs trying to keep from laughing, "Poor Sarah. We really shouldn't do this to your staff…they're usually really nice."

"I know," the young woman shouldered her backpack and picked up a text book from the entryway table where she had left it last night, "I was more hoping my parents were around than anything though."

"Evil Sam," the halfa frowned, "Very evil. I would have been toast."

"Sam?" her mother's voice came from around the corner and Danny glared at his friend, "Sam dear, before you leave…oh! Hello Daniel."

"Good morning Mrs. Manson," he nodded his head, "I just came to walk Sam to school."

"Very nice dear," she turned her attention back to her child immediately, "Sam, please remember to come straight home after school. You need to be ready for your make up appointment by five, then your hair at five thirty. Dressed and ready to go by six of course."

"Yes Mom," the girl was practically burning from her embarrassment, sending a sideways glance to see Danny looking downwards and thinking hard about something, "but I'm wearing a different dress. I ordered one already and I'll only go through all that stuff if I can wear _my _dress."

"Alright, we'll compromise on this," Mrs. Manson nodded, knowing that her daughter's taste was not bad, so much as different and not as brightly colored as she wished for her child, "Make sure Danny knows your color choice so he might match with you. You are getting her a corsage, are you not?"

"Well, surprise," Danny grinned at Sam, "I'm getting you something for the dance."

"Thanks," Sam laughed, then turned to find her mother actually smiling at their interaction instead of her normal disapproving frown, "Mom?"

"Oh, I'm just happy my baby is becoming such a beautiful young woman," she began to shoo the pair towards the door, opening it for them so they could hurry to school, "Now you two get to school, and remember to be home in time for everything. Daniel, I'll see you again at six."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded then boldly reached for Sam's hand to pull her forward and off the steps, "C'mon Sam, we're running late. Bye Mrs. Manson!"

"Bye Mom," Sam echoed as they started off, more out of a routine echo of Danny's parting than actual habit, and gripped his hand tightly, praying that her mother would say nothing about his hand holding hers. Her mother simply waved them off, then slipped back inside, 'Probably to call the newspapers. Stop the presses! Sam Manson is holding hands with a boy in public! Goth girl, trouble maker finally growing up! Just wonderful…'

"You have nails," her hand was in front of Danny's face even as he spoke and Sam had to walk slightly in front of him to make sure that she wasn't being dragged along, "Your nails aren't that long usually, right? Or maybe I'm just crazy. Which is a possibility."

"You're not crazy," Sam sighed, then pulled her hand back to look at it as Danny had, "I got a pedi-mani last night, courtesy of my crazy parents who think me going to this dance is a big thing."

"First off, it is a big thing. I mean, a girl's first dance and all that is supposed to be special right?" he grinned broadly as she rolled her eyes, then nodded, admitting that maybe it was a bigger deal to her than she let on, "Okay, so there. Now secondly, what the heck is a 'pedi-mani'?"

"A pedicure and manicure. You know, where they make your fingernails and toenails look all pretty and painted and all that," she cradled her one hand with the other, looking down on it as though trying to decide something, "I feel kinda' girly. I wear skirts and do my nails and makeup all the time, but this is…different somehow."

"Aw, Sam's a girl!" Danny teased as the school came into sight and Tucker walked up to join them, "Look Tuck! Sam's actually a girl! Who'd have thought?"

"A girl?" the boy was grinning and watched as Danny snatched one of Sam's hands and held it out for his inspection, "Wow, fingernails that aren't black or chipped. French tip, if I'm not mistaken. I bet you got your toes done too! I think you're right Danny, our friend Sam is actually a Samantha!"

"Shut it you two," she growled out and tried to pull her hand back, only to have Tucker grab it as well, both boys holding it and 'observing' it, "Let go, you jerks!"

"Look here," Danny pointed to her thumbnail, "It appears that she has clear nail polish with a strip of white across the top part of the nail. Definite French tip."

"Oh yes," Tucker agreed, then poked at another of her fingers, "And do I see softened cuticles?"

"Dude, how do you even know about softened cuticles?"

"To get the ladies, you have to think like the ladies," Sam managed to get her hand away while Tucker was thus distracted and watched as Tucker waved his hand in Danny's face, "Besides, it makes my hands feel good."

"Okay," the halfa just nodded, taking everything in stride. Compared to the things that normally happened, their current conversation was semi-normal, "Glad your hands feel good. Remind me to never give you that Fenton lipstick ever again."

"You forget, that's Sam's weapon now," their attention swung back to the girl, only to find her sprinting full out towards the door and slamming them open in an attempt to escape, "Oh, she's gonna' get it now. You can't run away from a good teasing and not expect to get teased more."

"I totally agree my best buddy," the teen grinned deviously, ready to hunt Sam down if he had to, just to get the teasing in, "She always harps on us, I think it's time we return the favor."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Well, look at this," Tucker's tray landed where Danny's normally would, the boy easily sliding into the chair beside Sam during their lunch break, "I think there's a girl sitting at our table."

"Well, what do you know?" Danny pulled another chair around and sat on the other side of the girl who was sinking lower into her seat and wishing she were the halfa so she could be invisible. She felt like half the cafeteria was paying attention to the loudly talking, grinning-like-fools boys who were her so called friends, "She even got her nails done. I heard she has a hair and makeup appointment, and her dress is coming in today."

"Oh my, I bet it's a b-e-a-utiful dress," Tucker leaned forward with his chin held in one hand, grinning stupidly at Sam's bright red face, "What color, Sammy-Sam-Sam?"

"I thought you agreed to never call me that again, Tucky-Tuck-Tuck," Sam managed to grit her own small comeback through her teeth, ready to pummel the boys and wondering where the boy that had been so sweetly shy around her all week had gone. The one currently to her left was smiling a little too charmingly and speaking a little too brashly to be the halfa who had kissed her on Sunday night, "What happened to sweet, shy Danny Fenton, and sweet, techno-geek Tucker Foley?"

"Aw, all I get is sweet and techno-geek?" his outrage was obviously staged and Sam let her head fall backwards over her chair, "Why can't I be shy and sweet like Danny?"

"Probably because you hit on anything with a high enough estrogen level, Tuck," Sam shot back, not even bothering to open her eyes as she replied, "Danny on the other hand…never mind, this whole conversation is pointless."

"Danny what?" the halfa asked, his curiosity peaked by her suddenly ended statement, "Just because I'm nice to you for a while, doesn't mean that a best friend won't get in their teasing, Sam. I have no mercy."

"You're wicked."

The conversation ended there for a while as Danny considered his own problems with the coming dance. Jazz was home from school, her college having gotten out several weeks before his own school would be done for the semester, and had been dragging him all over Amity to find a suitable suit, 'Which sounds really funny when I think it or say it. Maybe I should tell Sam and cheer her up a bit. She is kinda' cute when she's grumpy though. Maybe I should just let her pout.'

"Danny?" Sam glanced between Tucker and the halfa, cursing herself for a fool for what she was about to mention, "My colors…on my dress. It's red and black."

"Oh, that's good to know. A little late to mention it, but good to know," his fork began to dig into his potatoes as Tucker leaned as far over the table as he could to take in his best friends' blushing faces, "I'll call Jazz in a minute so she can call the store. She's going to give me hell for taking so long to find out."

"It wasn't your fault," Sam felt Tucker's eyes on them and wanted to use her spork on him in a very unkind way, "I didn't know until this morning. You can blame me if it makes you feel better."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Tucker's hands hit the table top in a soft slap, "You're telling me that you actually asked Sam? When were you going to tell me? When did you even ask her for that matter?"

"Uh, asked her on Monday, and um, I was going to tell you after school today."

"Sam is sitting right here," the girl interjected, "And you shouldn't be making such a production Tuck. You asked Danny to ask me so your date wouldn't be so awkward, and you still haven't told us who you're taking. Don't be hypocritical."

"Yeah," Danny stuck out his tongue, "What she said."

"You're just taking her side because she actually agreed to go with you."

"More like was tricked into it," Sam rolled her eyes and enjoyed Danny's blush as Tucker's grin grew, "It doesn't matter now. What matters now is that we all have something to tease the other about, so we should end this now before we end up more embarrassed than ever before in our pathetically short little lives. Truce?"

"Truce," Danny was the first to grab Sam's hand and firmly shake, then turned to Tucker and did the same, "Truce man, you've got way too much dirt on me."

"Deal," he shook Danny's hand, then Sam's, "I don't know what you have on me, but I don't think I want to find out."

"Um, I'm gonna' run and call my sister," the halfa began to pat down his pockets, then search his backpack for his cell, "Or, maybe not. Do you think the secretary in the office would let me call home to tell my sister what color I need my tie to be?"

"Probably not," Sam forked over her own cell, "but if you get that taken up, I swear I'll make your life miserable. Like mine has been with my mother fawning over me since I told her about this whole dance thing."

"You've got your mom, I've got mine," Tucker cut in, watching Danny pocket the phone and get ready to head off to a secluded area to make the call, "Danny's got Jazz dragging him all over town."

"To find a 'suitable suit' in her words," the teen grinned towards Sam, happy that a small laugh escaped her lips, "Don't worry, I won't start treating you different just because we finally realized you can be all girly."

A pea, two carrots, and a spoonful of mashed potatoes was sent his way and Danny was out the cafeteria doors before anymore food could find its way onto his shirt. Chuckling to himself, he phased the food off and went to make his call, hoping that Sam could wrestle the name of Tucker's secret date out of him, 'Now if I can just get a hold of Jazz…hope she isn't shopping again. She keeps doing all this dance stuff with me and I can't figure out why she's suddenly interested.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

6:15 pm, After School

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Craaaaap,' the halfa was racing around his room, grabbing at a shirt, tucking his wallet into the back pocket of his pants, and trying his hardest to not panic at how horrendously late he was running at that particular moment in time, 'Please don't kill me Sam, I'll get there soon…I think. Crap, crap, crap!'

His tie was giving him problems, Jazz was refusing to get out of the bathroom, and his sister had even gone so far as to set up a mini-portable ghost shield around the room to buy her time. Knocking, yelling, cajoling, blackmailing, begging, and threatening had all been tried and failed, and Danny was forced to use the mirror in his room to dress in front of and try to tame his hair, "I'm just glad that I decided to have my clothes in here…and that my cologne was in here…and my deodorant. Now if I can just find a toothbrush and toothpaste in this mess of a room I'll be set."

"Danny, are you muttering to yourself in there again?" his mother's quiet tap at the door had him blushing slightly, "Honey, you're running awfully late. Is there anything I can do to help you get ready?"

"Um, can you get the…no, never mind, I'm ready," he sped out of the room with his tie and coat in hand, leaning over to kiss his mother's cheek, "Thank you though. I know I'm running late, but Jazz took over the bathroom. She's such a….such a…"

"Such a girl? Or maybe a sister?" she laughed gently as she tailed her son to the kitchen where he paused a second to loosely hang his tie around his shirt collar, then watched as he moved to dig in the fridge, avidly avoiding the molding ham in the back, "Did she not tell you why she's in the bathroom?"

"No," Danny pulled out a small box, grinning at the fact that it hadn't been crushed by his crazy family or the crazy food found in the icebox, "I don't really care. I got dressed and everything, all I need is toothpaste and a toothbrush and I'll be fine."

"Toothpaste and a toothbrush I can do," his father passed by him and headed towards the lab, "I keep a spare downstairs for when I can't get away from the research. Come on down with me and I'll hand it over."

"Actually, can you just bring it up, I have a couple more things to do and I'm running super late," he was at the door now, searching for shoes, and Maddie just shook her head and headed off to find him a pair of socks to wear.

'He'll lose his head one of these days if he isn't careful,' she chuckled to herself as she dug in her son's drawers and pulled out a pair of black dress socks, 'Danny, you certainly are nervous about this dance. Sam must be awfully important to you young man, and you'd best take care of her…'

Heading back downstairs Maddie was just in time to see Danny with a toothbrush in his mouth answering the knock at the door. Imagine the halfa's surprise when Tucker appeared with a rose in hand, a shy and nervous look quickly turning to nervousness, shock, and dread.

"Dude," the halfa backed up shaking his head, "No. I'm not gonna' be your date."

"Actually, Danny," Jazz appeared behind him and Tucker smiled tightly, hoping and praying that Danny wouldn't overreact, "Tucker's my date tonight."

"You," Danny swung an intense glare on his best friend then, who was shying his way in the door and past the angry halfa towards his beautifully dressed date, "Are. Dead."

"Who's dead?"

Maddie matched Jack's smile as Danny immediately lost himself to the girl's voice behind him and lit up like a Christmas tree with his blush. Jack was sure his son's neck popped from the force with which the boy turned to find Sam dressed up, trussed up, and standing behind him in the doorway, a purse on her arm and a smile on her lightly painted lips. The elder couple laughed lightly as he stood in pure shock, his eyes sweeping over her from top to bottom.

"Sam?" he managed to squeak out, then cleared his throat to try again, "What are you doing here? I was supposed to pick you up."

"Yeah, like twenty minutes ago," she raised an eyebrow, looking him over much the same way he had done her. She must have approved of the toothbrush in mouth, messy hair, loose tie, unbuttoned shirt look, "Usually it's the guy who has to wait for the girl to get finished, but it is the twentieth century, and I figured that I could pick you up since you were running late. Like normal."

Maddie rushed to find her camera and Jack rushed to find a plate of fudge, now made vegan friendly in case Sam ever wanted to reappear at their house and have any. Settling himself comfortably in the corner of the room, Jack ate and watched the teens, all four of which he would claim as his own children, 'This is almost as good as _TAPS _or _Most Haunted_!'

"So, Tucker is taking Jazz, who just so happens to be _your _sister," Sam nodded her head and moved closer to Danny to smile up at him wickedly, "No wonder he wouldn't tell you. Now he's protected by the Fenton who can turn a broom into a deadly weapon, and you can't do a thing about it."

"Not right now," icy blue eyes locked onto Tucker's own brown ones, a death wish dancing in them clearly, "but he must have forgotten I know where he lives. And other things that could be very, very bad for him."

"Hey, let's not discuss this right now," the other boy was bouncing on the balls of his feet, nerves on edge as the blue went from normal Fenton blue to something far colder, "We should probably get going and all that good stuff. You know, so we aren't late like Danny here…not that that's a bad thing, my very best friend ever!"

"Danny," Jazz folded her arms and tapped her foot in a near perfect imitation of their mother, "I asked Tucker, not the other way around."

"You did what?" Sam and Danny's shock was echoed in their statements, spoken nearly in sync. Looking curiously at one another, then back at the odd pair in front of them, they waited impatiently for an explanation. Jazz sighed heavily and put on her best smile, her tone that of a lecturer.

"I was asked to help chaperone this year's dance, because I was one of the few alumni that would be back in town, and several parents couldn't make it tonight," her gaze was calm, but somehow stern while she held Danny's own upset gaze, "I know he's your best friend, and I realize how strange this is, but I figured that Tucker deserved to have a date for once at one of these things, no offense Tuck."

"None taken," he smiled and nodded towards her, then glanced worriedly at Danny lest his smile incite even more wrath from the young man.

"Anyways, I wanted a date too, and I couldn't exactly find anyone on such short notice around here in Amity since I've been away most of the year at college," she waved Danny off as he started to speak, "And besides, Tucker made a deal with me that if I was going to be his date, I had to drive us all there. And you know how I am about driving most of the time."

"She has a point," Jack called out, still eating his fudge, just as Maddie flashed a picture of the group, much to the disheveled Danny's consternation and Sam's secret delight. Jazz and Danny's parents smiled happily at the unusual picture and started about getting the teens ready to go. The pair of socks was handed to Danny who finally finished brushing his teeth, Tucker was spruced up a bit by Jazz, Jack offered Sam some fudge to tide her over until the buffet at the dance, and Danny stood confused, slightly upset, and more than a little dazed by everything that was happening around him.

"I think I'm ready and so is Tuck and so are you, and you can help Danny get his tie done on the way to the dance," Jazz started towards the door with her keys twirling in her hands, "Let's go, Miss Sam. The dance isn't going to wait for us or for late boys. Come on late boys, Danny start buttoning your shirt or Sam might get to do it. She'd probably love that though, so maybe you should let her."

"Jazz," Danny was hopping on one foot trying to tie his shoe and keep his messy hair out of his eyes, "That isn't funny."

"I dunno'," Sam shrugged her shoulders as she headed out the door, glad that her back was turned to them all so they couldn't see her face or her horrendous blush, "It might be true."

"Very funny!" Danny yelled as he finally got his second shoe on and followed the laughing Tucker out the door, grabbing the small box and his jacket on the way. His mother stopped him for a second to pat his head, button his shirt to a decent point, and kiss his cheek. His father stepped in to hand him a bit of money, a stern look imparting that it wasn't to be wasted uselessly over the course of the night, "Bye Mom, bye Dad. I promise I'll behave and be back right after the dance."

"It's a dance Danny," Maddie pushed him towards the door and ruffled his hair even more than it was, "If you don't break curfew I'll be worried."

"Have a great time kids!" Jack's voice followed him to the car where the other three were already waiting, "Dance a lot and call if you see any ghosts this year!"

"Right Dad!" and he was in the car, slumping next to a laughing Sam and seriously considering hitting the head of Tucker which was bobbing around in the seat in front of him, "Tucker, just because she asked you doesn't mean you're off the hook yet."

"Just relax, Danny," Jazz's eyes caught his own in the rear view mirror as she started the car, "A couple of dances and a little talking never hurt anyone's sister. Besides, this was the best way for me to go and help keep an eye on things and the whole ghost situation. No threats tonight, just fun…which is something you need every now and again, right Tuck? Sam?"

"Right," Sam agreed as she turned in her seat, tugging her seatbelt over her head so she could face Danny, "Turn, so I can fix your tie. Jazz says your hopeless, I think you're just lazy."

"No, he's really hopeless," Tucker turned in his seat to watch Danny blush and squirm while trying to keep himself away from Sam and finish buttoning his shirt first, "See? He can't even button his shirt right."

"What?" the halfa looked down at himself then sighed and leaned back with his eyes closed, "I give up. I had to chase the Box Ghost for twenty minutes downtown, which is why I was running late by the way, then I couldn't get _someone_ out of the bathroom, then I had to use my Dad's emergency toothbrush, then Tucker shows up as my sister's date. Tonight, so far, sucks."

"Quit whining," Sam's voice snapped him out of his sour mood as she started to fuss over his wrongly buttoned shirt, "You only messed up the top three or four, so no big deal, I knew you'd be running late because you tend to do that, Jazz and Tucker look cute together, and at least you didn't have to put up with my Dad and Mom lecturing you on manners and proper etiquette."

"I don't know about cute," Jazz turned to look over at Tucker beside her, "Maybe well suited, but cute…? We'll see."

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Tucker's desperate voice made the pair in the backseat chuckle, and Danny finally started to relax, "Because, seriously Jazz, Danny is going to murder me in my sleep tonight. Can we talk about something else? Anything else?"

"How about that new PDA of yours?" Jazz wisely let the subject dropped and helped Tucker out of his situation, "Didn't you just have one a few weeks ago that was brand new or something? I remember Danny mentioning you buying one."

"Technus, again, managed to mess with all my stuff," the conversation in the front seat quieted to include only the pair, "Had to buy a new one to replace the one I lost."

"You're not really mad at him, are you?" Sam finished the last button and folded Danny's collar up, ready to help him straighten out the mess he'd made with his tie, "You shouldn't be. Especially since he's already sweating bullets about it. It's no wonder he was so tight lipped all week and didn't hang out around us much."

"Just doing my big, yet little brother duties. He looks ready to die of fright anyways, so I guess I'll let it go for now," he shrugged and pulled the tie around his neck with a grimace, "And I'm not lazy, I really can't tie this thing."

"I used to do it for my Dad all the time when I was little," Sam pulled the tie's ends even and began the process of creating a simple slipknot, "I loved helping him get ready in the morning. I haven't done this in a while, but I think I still remember pretty well if I do say so myself."

Finishing her task, Sam slipped the knot up to the opening of his collar, set it straight, and folded the collar down, smiling as memories of her younger years washed over her. Looking up at Danny, Sam found a smile on his face and a quick kiss to her nose in thanks. Shy, nervous laughter bubbled out of her before she could stop it and Danny jerked back just in time as both Jazz and Tucker looked back. With his hair askew, the pair in front assumed that was what Sam had laughed at and joined her, teasing the halfa for the rest of the ride about his bed head hair. Sam sent a shy smile at Danny, who surreptitiously slipped his hand into her own, glad that Tucker and Jazz couldn't see everything in the backseat.

The little box stay hidden in his pocket, forgotten for the moment, even though the halfa knew he should have already given it to her, 'I'll figure it out. She'll get it eventually…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Wallflowers and dancing queens, the lords of dance and double left foot boys all lined the gym as teachers, alumni, and parents watched their activities and enjoyed themselves. The tables set up along the edges held fruits, cheeses, and various other goodies for the teens, as well as sodas, waters, teas, and fruit punch to quench their appetites and thirsts. In all, the gym had been transformed into a dance hall of the best kind in the teens' eyes, and a rather interesting social atmosphere to those who had the mindset of Jazz.

Aforementioned girl was having a field day observing all those she had left behind less than a year ago to attend college, taking mental notes about the mingling of different castes on nights such as these. She was thankful that she'd asked Tucker to accompany her, mostly because it had given Tucker a reason to prod Danny into asking Sam. She was also grateful that he was such an attentive date as he was now approaching with a water in hand, ready to relieve her of her chaperone duties for a moment to dance, just as she'd been wanting to do, 'Not bad Foley, now maybe the other girls will take notice that you're a catch. I've got one little brother taken care of, now I just have to get you paired up and we're good to go.'

"Please tell me that look isn't aimed at me," Tucker handed over the water and stood beside her with his hands in his pocket, "I know that look Jazz, and I don't want to have anything to do with whatever you're cooking up."

"Me? I'm not cooking anything up, so no worries," she gave him a bright smile and nodded across the room at the table he'd just come from, "Danny and Sam just talking?"

"Mostly," the boy shrugged, then offered his hand as a semi-slow song came on, "Come on, dance date, let's boogie."

"You got it," the older girl laughed and took his hand, letting him lead her out onto the floor for a quick turn, much to the amusement of several people around them, "Let's just hope that the lovebirds at the table take the hint."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Maybe they're secretly in love and have been dating since who knows when?" her voice was teasing and setting him on edge with the slight note of sincerity to it, "Maybe they're planning on running off and getting married as soon as Tuck finishes school."

"Since when have you been so 'hopeless romantic' about things?" Danny snorted and turned his head towards Sam, resting it on his palm as he leaned against the table. The laughter in her eyes told of her teasing, and Danny let a smile slip in return, knowing that her teasing him was all in good fun.

"I dunno'," Sam shrugged lightly and sipped at her water, then ate another piece of melon with a happy smile, "Maybe since I discovered that I'm a girl? I mean, it only happened over the past couple of days and all, so maybe it's all flowing out at once."

"Har, har," he shook his head and pulled back from the table to stretch, "I wonder what they're really talking about. Tuck just said he was going to take her a water really quick…now he's asking her to dance? Aw, no way, that's low man! She's my sister!"

"Sit down," Sam pulled the enraged boy down by the back of his jacket, "Yes she's your sister, and yes he's your best guy friend. I think you'll live, and besides, they're just dancing. Dancing is not the devil's work as some people would have you believe, Danny Fenton."

"Right," he rolled his eyes and folded his arms in a clear pout, "Tell me that when they're off in the bushes making out or something."

"Gross," a strawberry was thrown at his head as Sam stuck out her tongue, "Why do boys always have to be so disgusting about everything?"

"Because we're boys," his reply was earnest and immediate and had Sam laughing, the light returning to Danny's eyes as he started to worry less about Tucker and Jazz and focus more on his date for the evening, "So…you want anything else? More fruit since you threw your last one at me?"

"I'm good for now," Sam too stretched lightly as Danny had done earlier, "I think I might just get up to move a little though. I mean, I didn't buy a dress to just sit right?"

'Okay, that stung a little,' the halfa thought as he rushed to pull her chair out for her and offer her his hand, "I should have asked if you wanted to dance earlier. Sorry."

"Dance?" she looked between the boy's hand and his face, wondering what exactly his tone of voice meant, "I never said…I mean, I do want to, but I didn't say that just to get you to ask me. Honestly, I just wanted to move for a second, I was getting stiff just sitting here."

"Oh, so wait," he bit his lip slightly and leaned a bit closer to the girl, withdrawing his offered hand to balance himself on the table edge, "You do want to dance, but…you don't expect me to dance with you?"

"You make things very complicated," she scolded him and stood up, causing Danny to pull back lest they be far closer than proper according to some of the chaperones, "I'd love to dance, but only if you want to Danny."

"Good," the smile that split his face was a thousand kilowatts and lit the room around them, "Let's dance."

Pulling her along with him to the dance floor, the couple stepped up to Jazz and Tucker who were just starting the Cha-Cha Slide, much to all of their amusement. Laughing and chatting as they danced, the friends enjoyed the music and movement, reveling in the freeness of the evening. Across the dance floor, a set of brown eyes spied Danny's happy face and wondered over its features, somehow softened and far more relaxed than she'd ever seen him.

'He was never that happy with me,' Valerie looked him over once more, even as she continued dancing, 'I can't believe he brought _her _to the dance with him. I mean, after everything that's happened between us! He even said that there was nothing between him and any other girl, and here he is with her at the dance, and I found them behind her house the other night.'

Her sour mood didn't go unnoticed by Star, whom she was dancing next to, and the other girl grabbed her arm and led her from the dance floor, sympathy clear in her pretty face, "Val, what's wrong? You look really upset about something."

"I just saw something that made me…," she turned away from her friend and headed towards the drinks, readying herself a cup of fruit punch, "Danny brought that Sam Manson tonight. You'd think he could at least wait a while before hooking up with someone. We went out for a freaking year!"

"They aren't dating," Star pointed out gently, following Valerie to a table and sitting next to her friend, "They've been friends for a while now, everyone knows that, but it's always the three of them, Tucker, Danny, and Sam who go out together. Tucker came with Jazz, so it's not really all that surprising that Sam and Danny decided to keep each other company tonight. No one's playing third wheel that way, you know?"

"I guess," Valerie shrugged as she thought over what Star had said. It was a valid point, but it still stung to think that Danny already had another girl on his arm. Casting another look towards the dance floor she plastered on a fake smile, then downed the rest of her drink, "Let's go dance again…maybe Kwan will ask you to slow dance."

"You meanie," Star teased her friend back, thankful that she had seemingly left her blue mood behind, "But maybe he will. Who knows, maybe one of the other guys will ask you to dance too?"

"Maybe," Valerie sent one last glance towards the boy that used to be hers, "Maybe…"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Wanna' take a break?" Danny nearly had to shout over the blaring speakers by which they'd eventually ended up during their dancing, wincing as just a tiny wail sounded in his voice, 'Note to self, work on that so I don't accidentally end up breaking anything when I need to just yell…'

Sam simply nodded, not really wanting to raise her voice at that particular moment in time. She was having fun, something she thought would never happen at a high school dance, and felt rather at peace with the entire situation. Moving back towards their little table, Danny grabbed another plate and filled it with cheeses and fruits as they passed the food, grinning when Sam slipped a couple of grapes off the plate he'd claimed as his own.

"Don't look now, but you've got a stalker," Tucker teased the pair as he and Jazz picked up their own plates of snacks, his eyes darting towards where the more popular people had set up for the evening, "Bet she's regretting not asking you to the dance before she broke up with you."

"Yeah, you've got to admit little brother, you clean up nice," Jazz ruffled his hair gently with a good natured smile, "Sam's making a lot of girls jealous tonight I bet."

"Probably," aforementioned girl rolled her eyes and blushed, grinning slightly as she made Danny blush by her statement, "but the question is, am I making the right girl jealous?"

"You mean Valerie?" the halfa was indignant for half a second, then turned his head slowly with a puzzled look to glance over to where Tucker had indicated, "I'm not trying to make anyone jealous Sam, I just thought it would be nice if we didn't have to go stag."

"Oh," Sam answered quickly, more than ready to just sit down and eat a few pieces of fruit in the peace she had felt earlier. Tucker sent her a worried look, then nudged her with his shoulder, waggling his eyebrows and winking flirtatiously at her.

"Aw, you know you're making all the girls jealous with your good looks," the boy started towards the table with the other three in tow, "We're gonna' have to dance to show up all these people. You'll see Sam, when it comes to dancing, ain't nobody finer than Tucker Foley."

"Whatever you say Tuck," Sam sat herself down with a small laugh, then watched curiously as two separate things happened. Danny frowned heavily and moved his chair to sit closer to Sam than he had been previously, while across the room Valerie Gray started to move closer and closer to their table, a wary look etched on her face, 'Okay, Danny needs to grow up, and Valerie needs to get a life. Perfect, I'm caught in two melodramas and I don't even like watching them on T.V.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

All too soon, Valerie had finally worked her way over, though it had taken her so long that both the boys had finished all the food, on their own plates as well as their dates'. The music had started to slow for the couples who were attending, and Sam was poking at the greens left from the top of a strawberry when a small cough caught the attention of the table's four occupants.

"Oh, uh, hey Val."

'Great,' Sam flicked the leaves off her plate and didn't even bother to look up as the conversation started up and Jazz pulled away for the moment to make her rounds and break up an amorous couple a few tables down from them, 'Hello melodrama, goodbye fun.'

"Hey yourself," Valerie started to test the waters, not quite sure how the three still sitting were going to react to her presence, "You guys having a good time?"

"A blast," Sam droned as she straightened herself a bit, remembering that she could at least feign politeness for the evening, "The dance isn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"That's…nice," Valerie managed to grind out through her clenched jaw, 'What's her problem? I know Danny could be a lot of things, but a bad date he isn't. Late, yeah, but not a bad date.'

"So, danced a lot or just pig out like we did?" Tucker joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit. He shot Valerie as sincere and charming a smile as he could manage, and was rewarded with a genuine smile, 'At least she isn't in one of her 'kill everything' moods.'

"A little of both," the smile on her face was more confident now, and Sam could almost see the question on her tongue. Danny looked a little uncomfortable, yet somehow hopeful, and Sam figured it was the same question burning in his mind.

'If he wants to ask, he should just ask,' Sam looked towards Tucker, trying to keep her irritation under control, 'So he kissed me? So we're here together? He admitted he only asked me because he didn't want to go by himself, and I don't exactly have a 'Property of Samantha E. Manson' stamped on him anywhere…'

"Are Star and Kwan actually going to dance tonight, you think, or are they just going to flirt the whole time?" Danny nodded towards the couple across the room, and caused Sam to blow a gasket. His question had seemed innocent enough to him and Tucker, but to the two girls he had just opened a can of worms.

"Danny, why don't you just ask Valerie to dance already?" Sam shot him a no-nonsense look as she pushed him away from her and towards the girl in front of them, "She probably doesn't want to stand there all night."

"What?" Danny twisted his head around to look at Sam, even as he stood as he had been told to do and turned back towards Valerie, "Dance…did you want to?"

"Um, sure," Valerie shot Sam an almost grateful look, laced with a good amount of confusion and wariness, "For old times' sake."

"Good," and Sam watched as Danny calmly took the other girl's hand just as he had a thousand other times. It was obvious in his movements how routine taking her hand was, even after the months spent apart from one another. Leading her off to dance, the halfa glanced back towards his date, a sad look to his eyes, even as he tried to smile lightly for her, "Be back!"

"Sure," Sam slumped against the table, rolling her eyes heavenwards for patience, 'Hey Tuck, I think I just lost my date…mind if I play third wheel for a while? I'm sure you won't mind, and neither will Jazz, and you know, after an evening of being alone and slightly frustrated, do you think you could possibly drop me off at home so my parents can ridicule me and play Spanish Inquisition, so that I might feel even worse and end up being a typical bubblegum teenage girl and crying myself to sleep? Great! Thank you ever so much!'

"That 'sure' didn't sound too happy," Tucker passed a new bottle of water to Sam, hoping to distract the girl with a few moments of idle chat, "You want to dance?"

"Not really, I'm still a little tired from the last go," the girl straightened herself again, feeling like a three year old throwing a tantrum, 'I'm the one who told them to go dance, maybe I should grow up a little and stop pouting about something I made happen.'

"Fine, fine," the boy still beside her at the table heaved a sigh, then inched closer to swing his arm over the back of her chair, stretching one of his shoulders out with a pop, "That…felt good."

"Glad to hear it," Sam spoke in a monotone voice, one eyebrow quirked at the boy beside her, "Don't get me wrong, but your date might get the wrong impression, Tuck."

"Nah," he laughed back to her, wrapping her up in a one armed hug which Sam happily leaned into, "She's into all that psychobabble and psychology. I think she'll understand a brotherly show of support, especially when she's close enough of a sister to me anyways. She shocked the heck out of me when she asked me to the dance, you know?"

"I can only imagine," and with that they sat for a few moments, watching the dancers twirl their night away as Sam tried her hardest to not pick out Danny's form, swaying amongst the masses. It wasn't working too well, and she resigned herself to watching him with a sigh, her thoughts taking a new direction for every second he danced, even while Tucker talked to her about Danny and how much he liked pleasing people…even if it meant doing something he really didn't want to do.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Are you sure we should be dancing?" Danny winced at the look of hurt that crossed Valerie's face then, not enjoying hurting anyone of the fairer gender, no matter if they were his ex, "I meant, won't your date get jealous or something?"

"No, because I don't have a date," her head was turned, a delicate sigh issuing from her lips as the light played across her features, "What about your date, won't she get upset?"

"Um, I…she told us to dance," Danny shrugged, a sneaking suspicion that maybe Valerie was right stealing over the young man and giving him shivers, "Maybe I should…"

"No," Valerie pulled him back to her, continuing the dance, "We're already dancing, so we might as well keep going. Don't you think?"

"I guess," he shrugged again and looked back over his shoulder to find Sam snuggled against Tucker's side with a rather wistful look on her face as she stared blankly out over the dancing couples, "Val, you know we're just friends, right? Um, that is, if we're still friends…"

"That would be nice," she nodded, sliding her hand up her arm to rest on his bicep, "but don't you think we work better as a couple?"

"Whoa, wait a second," Danny jerked back slightly, holding her at arms length, "_You're _the one who broke up with _me_, Val."

"I know," she paused for a second, then forced herself back into motion, not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of the dance floor, "but maybe I was wrong, and if we just tried harder next time…"

"Valerie," Danny shook his head, a chuckle of disbelief slipping out, "I don't…I don't think I want a next time. I tried everything I could think of to make it work."

"Let's try harder then," the girl shrugged, convinced that she could persuade him, "We'll work at it."

Giving another look towards Sam, Danny decided that he'd had enough and pulled away to give Valerie a cheeky bow of his head, "Thanks for the dance, but I think I'm neglecting my date...and Tucker can't possibly be that comfortable."

"Danny," Valerie caught his hand just one last time, "Just…think about it, okay? I made a mistake, and I do still want to be friends…"

"Friends is good for now Valerie," Danny smiled, already moving off and slipping his hand out of hers, "And I think…I think we work better _that _way."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Well, that looked adorable and irresistibly charming,' Sam watched Danny nod his head then give Valerie _that_ smile, the one he probably knew melted the hearts of all womankind, 'Okay, maybe not that charming, but still. Breathe Sam, you and him aren't exactly together…but after that kiss I didn't think we were exactly apart either. Maybe he didn't like the dance and-'

"Let's dance," the young woman was pulled up before she could finish her thoughts which had been drifting badly, and the startled look on her face had Danny smiling gently as Tucker laughed and headed off to find Jazz, "I want to dance, so come on. You said you'd love to if I wanted to, right?"

"It's a slow song," she turned her head away and watched as Tucker pulled Jazz back onto the dance floor, "We haven't been dancing to slow songs, Danny."

"I know," he smiled bashfully, then pulled her against him even before they reached the main circle of dancers, "I thought you might like to though. Tucker can't possibly be that comfortable to lean against and I know those chairs are hard. I just figured that moving would help a little."

"He's kinda' comfy," she rolled her eyes, thankful that for once that evening Danny wasn't upset with the other boy and forgetting her earlier train of thought as she found herself securely in the halfa's arms, "You're right about moving though, because those chairs are horrible to sit in for too long. You know, I think I want to dance with Tuck too, before the night's over just to see if he _can _dance like he always brags he can."

"I think you'll have to pry him away from Jazz first. They look like they're having fun."

Looking over at the mentioned pair, Sam found Tucker and Jazz laughing about something as he twirled her around the room, not caring that several people were watching them and smiling. Over the few weeks that she had known Jazz and seen her interact with the boys, Sam had come to realize that Tucker was more of a brother figure than anything, and the pair was extremely close, 'Probably because they've spent so much time together helping Danny. Being in a ghost fight with a person will make anyone close, especially when your life is on the line…'

"I danced with Val, but it didn't exactly work out very well," Danny tried to pull Sam from her thoughts and succeeded with his announcement. Her eyes were once again on him and no longer following his sister and their friend around the room, "She kept talking about getting back together, and I just wanted to make sure we were still friends. We never really were on the same page."

"I guess I shouldn't have said anything," Sam turned her head away slightly, not quite able to meet the young man's gaze as a tiny tug of guilt pulled her stomach into a knot, "Tuck said you probably only went because I said something."

"Yeah, um, sorta'," his answer was half laughed and half sheepish, and he turned his head away too as he looked around the room that had been decorated in honor of the End of Year dance, "But I am glad I did. At least this way she knows that I still want to be friends, and I know that she still wants to be with me."

"Must be an ego boost," the girl in his arms rolled her eyes and started to doubt her earlier thoughts on what had happened during that dance, 'Maybe he likes that she still likes him…and I'm pretty sure he knows I like him too by now.'

"Not really," he sighed and pulled her further against him as a couple swayed a bit too close to Sam for his liking. They were both reminded of Sunday night when they were in the earth and the halfa had tried to calm her, "So…dance going okay other than having a sucky date who runs off to dance with his ex-girlfriend who's turning into a nuisance?"

"I told you to dance with her, you know," Sam reiterated, irritated that he kept mentioning Valerie, "Other than that, the dance has been okay. It isn't as bad as I expected it to be, and I'm enjoying myself."

"That's good," he turned her gently, enjoying the slow motions they were going through as the song slowed even more. At one point during the dance one of Sam's hands drifted from it's place around his neck to rest above his heart, only for her to pull back slightly and shock Danny to no end as she slid her hand inside his jacket, "Hey, what in the world are you doing?"

"You've got something in your pocket," she dug it out and presented him a small box, kept cool by the halfa throughout the evening by his own personal means, "It's cold."

"I forgot to give that to you before we left my house," he grinned and opened the box while they kept dancing, lending some of his natural grace to their dance to keep them from running into anyone, "I sorta' figured I should have done it already, and then I couldn't figure out when to give it to you…"

It was a single red rose, tiny and perfect in its proportions and vividly bright in its coloring. It matched Sam's dress nearly perfectly, and the girl couldn't resist brushing a gentle finger over one of the soft petals, "A wrist corsage?"

"Pretty much," the halfa shrugged, the charming smile that was so rare coming out brightly and causing several dancing couples to watch the pair in unabashed curiosity, "I know you're all big about not hurting plants and the environment and all that, but flowers in flower shops are pretty much grown for the purpose of being used. I didn't want some poor rose to just wilt and die without fulfilling its duty in life and all that."

"You thought that one out," Sam slipped the rose over her wrist and settled her hand back on Danny's chest, "I'm impressed. Perfect fit."

"I can do some things right," Danny laughed as he tucked the empty box back into his pocket and twirled Sam one last time before the song ended, "See? I can almost dance right too."

"You're actually a pretty good dancer," the girl allowed herself to be led back to their table, only to find them detouring to the food set up along the way, "Don't tell me you're hungry again. You and Tuck just ate like twenty minutes ago, then you finished off half of my fruit and Tucker demolished the food on Jazz's plate. What's this?"

"The other half of the fruit I stole?" his face was cute and had an ethereal quality to it in the softened lights as he handed her a plate of her favorite fruits; a few pieces of melon, strawberries, and a bunch of choice grapes along with three crackers. The glow to his eyes though, was more than the light reflecting off of the blue, "Have you ever had a frozen grape?"

"No," Sam answered as she took the mentioned item off the plate and rolled it between two of her fingers, slightly surprised at how hard it was; quite unlike the normal soft and squishy grapes she was used to, "Do I let it melt or chew it or what?"

"Whatever you want," the halfa popped one into his own mouth, chewing and wincing at how cold it was, "I like to chew them. I love these things frozen with chocolate over them. Just figured out a few months ago that I could have frozen grapes whenever I wanted though, and the first time I did it I made one explode. Tuck and I had fun for about a week after that making things freeze too fast so they'd explode."

"I can only imagine," the girl replied dryly, then popped the grape into her mouth and started to chew, surprised at how different the grape seemed, "It doesn't taste different, but it feels…different."

"What, did you expect it to taste like ghost or something?"

He was teasing her and leaning a bit too close for her comfort as they were in the eye of the public. The devilish smirk he wore warned her of his mischievous intentions and she figured she might as well give as good as she got at the moment, "No, but I did expect it to taste like halfa."

A smug grin was set firmly on her lips as she turned and sashayed away from the stunned, open mouthed boy left at the snack table, 'Score one for the Goth girl. Halfa…maybe three, Goth girl, definitely ten by now.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"How does he stay in his jacket?" Tucker watched Danny hurry back across the room several seconds after Sam had arrived and sat down, "He's been dancing just as much as I have and I'm the only one of us sweating…"

"He's keeping himself cool," Jazz supplied, catching the corsage now on Sam's wrist, "I guess he was keeping that cool too?"

"Probably," Sam rolled a grape on her plate, then popped it into her mouth, "He froze some grapes a second ago, so that probably helped him."

"Ooo, frozen grapes," Jazz teased, "That means he really likes you, he won't freeze grapes for just anybody…let alone share them. I have to beg to get frozen grapes."

"I have to beg and promise to finish his homework," Tucker laughed. The three at the table quieted as Danny sat himself cautiously beside Sam, still shocked at her earlier statement and somewhat curious as to what they had been discussing right before he walked up to make Sam blush. She blushed harder, much to his delight, when he sat himself beside her and then dared to drape an arm over the back of her chair, his hand resting possessively on her shoulder.

"So, what have you three been up to?"

"Just talking about frozen grapes and how much of a rarity they are, especially the ghost influenced type," Tucker supplied easily as he tried to steal one of the aforementioned fruit off the plate, only to hit an invisible ghost shield around it, "Aw, come on, we all love these things, the least you could do is share."

"I am sharing, with my date," Danny withdrew his hand and leaned forward to stare Tucker down, "I wouldn't push it, bad luck Tuck. You're already hitting on my sister, and I'm sure you're going to try to play smooch face later."

"I am not!" the other boy sputtered out as Jazz inhaled part of her drink and started to cough. Sam was at her side, gently handing her a bottle of water she'd had sitting on the table and pulled her hair back out of her face until she got her coughing fit under control, "That's just wrong Danny."

"It was pretty mean," Sam frowned, though it was gentle and her voice was lighthearted enough for the halfa to know he wasn't really in trouble, "They're more brother and sister than anything else, and you know it, you jerk. Quit pushing their buttons."

"Really Danny," Jazz's eyes were locked on his own, threatening her brother easily with years of practice, "Don't forget, I'm getting better at my aim with the Fenton thermos."

"About time," the halfa mumbled and let the shield drop, "Fine, eat the grapes, I'll go get more and freeze them for everyone. Don't think this is going to become an everyday thing though."

He started to move off with laughter trailing behind him when he felt a hand on his back, tugging lightly to get him to pause and look at who was there. Looking over his shoulder, Danny was pleased to find Sam, smiling and shaking her head as she laughed as well, "I'll come with you, that way we can get a couple of plates. It is getting warmer in here, and unlike you, the rest of us could use something cold."

"I actually was going to head outside for a minute," he nodded towards one of the doors with a hangdog grin on his face, one hand in his pocket and the other outstretched to the girl at his side, "Wanna' come with? I'd be a very bad date if I just ditched you…again."

"Same here," she took the offered hand and the pair made their way through the crowded room, dodging dancing couples, running teenagers, fighting girls, harassing boys, upset chaperones, and one very slightly miffed Valerie Gray. Neither took notice of the girl's eyes on them as they went out though, and no one noticed her move to follow the pair.

Outside the lights were casting a soft glow on the school grounds and Danny quickly found an empty bench to sit on, Sam opting to stand instead as she was tired from sitting at the table. Reaching down, she quickly undid her shoes and slid her feet into the soft grass with a sigh, eliciting a chuckle from Danny as he watched her blissfully wiggle her toes and enjoy the freeing feeling of being barefoot, "Feel good?"

"Unbelievably good," she gave them one last wiggle in the grass then moved to the bench, sitting down slightly closer than she had actually meant to and bumping thighs with the boy, "Sorry."

"I don't mind," Sam found her hand caught in Danny's as she tried to move over to give him more room, the halfa pulling her back to where she had sat originally. The boy sat for a minute, gently looking over her hand and tracing the tiny lines with his thumb, enjoying the way her skin felt under his calloused fingers, "It's been a really weird night."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's just been a bit…hectic, but strangely lacking in ghosts," the boy supplied, letting her hand slip away as she leaned back and folded her arms against the chill in the air, "Want my jacket?"

"I'm fine," Sam answered, but found the boy taking his jacket off anyways. It slipped over her shoulders and instantly supplied the warmth of Danny's body heat, as well as his own particular scent which Sam enjoyed surreptitiously as the pair lounged on the bench and talked, "So why has everything been hectic and weird tonight."

"Just getting ready for the dance, and no ghosts, and then Valerie when we were dancing," he shrugged, a frown settling over his face as he thought over the dance he'd shared with his ex earlier, "I can't believe what she said to me, about how it would work if we tried harder. She kept insisting that it would work…and she's the one who broke it off."

"Did you ever think that maybe she's regretting letting you go?" the girl thought it over even as she spoke, carefully piecing together what Valerie might have been feeling as she observed Danny from a distance, "That maybe she realized that she could have tried harder and worked things out with a really wonderful guy, but was too proud to admit that _she _was the one who was messing up your relationship with each other? Face it Danny, you're probably the perfect boyfriend. You open doors and pull out chairs, you're polite and sweet and know how to charm parents. I mean, you made a good impression on my Mom, and heaven forbid anyone be good enough to impress her."

"I'm not the perfect boyfriend, I can definitely tell you that," he too folded his arms and leaned back with his shoulder pressed against Sam's, "I'm always late for things, forget dates and anniversaries and birthdays, never buy the right thing for a present when it's Christmas or whatever, and always end up sticking my foot in my mouth. Some boyfriend."

Sam couldn't help the laugh that welled up, and shook in her own quiet mirth for a moment as Danny started to pout, "You're such a weirdo sometimes."

"What? What'd I do now to get called a weirdo?" he was frowning and turned his head away stubbornly, "You're the weird one Sam, not me."

"I'm not weird compared to you," she raised an eyebrow and leaned over slightly to catch his eye, a gentle smile on her face when he finally met her look with one of his own, "I was just laughing because you can't even take a compliment at face value."

"I can," he argued stubbornly back, not sure what this was leading up to, 'But, it is getting us closer and closer and I really don't mind that. She smells really good tonight…and her lips look sweet…Don't screw this up Fenton.'

"Can you?" she challenged, completely unaware of what she was about to get herself into, "You're a sweet guy, just admit it, and you're shy most of the time, even when you think you're a big hero of some sort."

"Alright," he nodded, leaned forward as he built up his courage, and tilted his head so his lips were just brushing hers as he spoke, "but you're beautiful, Sam. Just admit it."

"I…," she tried to get a word in, but was happily interrupted by gentle lips leading her own in a series of kisses. Danny's hand knotted itself in her hair and tilted her head further as the short kisses turned into a longer one that made Sam's head spin, her own hand coming up to rest on the halfa's chest between them. Breaking away after a moment, which seemed as though it was both an eternity and a second long, the pair sat catching their breath and blushing, though it couldn't be seen in the light.

Danny's eyes were somehow softened on the edges, a look crossing his face that Sam had never seen before as he leaned his forehead softly against her own, "I hope that wasn't…bad or anything. I just kinda' really wanted to kiss you again…have been since Sunday, but this whole week was just too…um…"

"Hectic?" Sam's suggestion had Danny looking up towards the stars and laughing, the lights playing in his eyes as Sam watched on and enjoyed the quiet, happy moment they were sharing, "Danny?"

"Hm?" he turned back to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side as closely as he could, "Still cold?"

"Hardly," she blushed again and subconsciously brushed her fingertips across her still tingling lips. A swell of pride shot through Danny at her actions, and though he viciously stomped the feeling down, he still couldn't resist a small jibe at her obviously girl-like reaction.

"So that was pretty hot, huh?" he smirked and leaned over her, his arm bending her back as he leaned, Sam laughing the entire time as he teased her, "Sam's soooo girly, she's all flustered 'cause a boy kissed her."

"Shut up, Danny," she turned her head as he tried to kiss her again and pushed him back, using the boy's arm around her to sit up herself, "Don't be a jerk and ruin the moment, Mr. I stick my foot in my mouth."

"Hey, I admitted I was sweet and shy," he shrugged and leaned back into the bench again, Sam tucked against him once more, "You still have to admit that you're beautiful."

"I'll say I'm kinda' cute, and possibly averagely good looking," the girl pulled away from him slightly as she shot him a sideways look, "but I've already gone over this with myself. I'm confident and enjoy the way I look."

"And you're beautiful," Danny cut in once more and chuckled at the frustrated sigh Sam let out.

"Whatever," she shook her head, a tight smile playing on her lips, "The last boy who told me I was beautiful turned out to be a complete fake and then dropped me like a rock to go after a cheerleader."

"I thought you never dated anyone?" the halfa was suddenly feeling oddly jealous, and if given half the chance, the boy who had obviously hurt Sam would be scared out of his wits every night for the rest of his time in Amity Park, "Who the hell would do that to you, you're sweet and caring and intelligent and…I'm rambling, but still."

"I didn't really date him," she shrugged, unsure of what was going on exactly with Danny and the tone of his voice, "We went out on dates, but I don't consider him a boyfriend because…of a bunch of things. Like he told me his name was Gregor, but his real name was Elliot."

"Elliot," the halfa's face suddenly lit with recognition, "I remember now! He's the jerk who would be whatever he thought would get him a girl. The Guys in White thought he was Phantom for a while and I ended up having to save him."

"That was the night he dumped me," Sam rolled her eyes, a frown settling over her face as she remembered, "I was supposed to meet him, but something held me up. I'm glad I missed the action, I guess."

"I should have let them fry him," the green hint to Danny's eyes surprised Sam, as did the gruffness of his voice. Danny did not often threaten or wish ill on people, and this was definitely not normal behavior in the eyes of Sam, "I knew he was an ass, I just didn't realize how big of one he was…"

"It's fine," the young woman rushed to console the upset boy, hoping that he wasn't planning any revenge on her part, "He didn't really mean anything to me; we went to the movies a couple of times and he kissed me once. It wasn't a very good kiss either, and I didn't want him to really. It sort of came out of nowhere."

"Like I did the other night?" the wince on Danny's face was cute, and had Sam biting her lip so she wouldn't chuckle.

"No," she gently corrected him, "because I wanted you to, so I didn't mind."

"Oh," and he sat back to look at the stars again, Sam joining him as he watched the different stars and planets play into the constellations of the ancient days. A slight weight on his shoulder made him tense for a second before he realized that Sam's head was resting there. Her breath lightly playing across his neck sent shivers down his spine and he had to close his eyes as he fought down the sensation it was causing and prayed that she wouldn't notice how easily she could effect him, 'I'm not sure I want anyone to know just how much power you have over me, Sam. Even you…'

"So that's where you two went," Tucker's voice drifted from the sidewalk leading to the gym doors, soft footfalls approaching the pair on the bench as they turned their heads to watch the boy and his date walk, "Have any fun making out?"

"That's not really any of your business," Sam stuck out her tongue and turned bright red, thanking God above that it was too dark for the other boy to see, "Did you have any fun making out in the bushes with Jazz?"

"Hey, you were just defending me not thirty minutes ago," Jazz folded her arms and shook her head, "Teenagers…"

"You're still a teen, sis," Danny stood and stretched, then offered his hand to pull Sam up, but instead found it full of his jacket, "Uh, thanks."

"Welcome," Sam smiled cutely, then stood on her own and reached down for her shoes, "I really don't want to put these shoes back on…"

"I know how you feel," Jazz glanced down at her own feet and winced, sharing in the misery of all women who wear high heels for special occasions, "Don't you just wish we could wear tennis shoes to these things sometimes?"

"Better yet, boots," Danny cut in and gave Sam a sideways hug, "Because you know she's just about reached her girly limit for the year. She needs something to balance her out so she won't explode from all the effort of keeping up the appearance of being a _woman_."

"A woman," Sam repeated blankly, then started to laugh at how ridiculous their teasing and conversations had become over the course of the evening, "Oh yeah, like that was ever mentioned at any point of any of our conversations. Maybe when I was doing that thing on the bench it popped into your head."

"Thing on the bench?" Tucker looked horrified for a moment, then took in Danny's utterly confused face and shook it off, "Right, you're teasing Sam. Oh thank God…"

"I think you gave him a heart attack," Danny laughed and started to amble towards the door of the gym with his jacket thrown jauntily over his shoulder, "Come on, you found us, let's go eat some more frozen grapes or something…"

"Hurrah," Jazz laughed and caught up with her brother, looping her arm through his own and enjoying a stolen moment with him, "Can we dance little brother, or are you too embarrassed to dance with your sister?"

"I'd love to dance," he grinned back, then disappeared through the door with her, Tucker and Sam right behind them and arm in arm just as the siblings were. Chuckling at the pair in front of them, they simply shook their heads and headed in, Sam asking for a dance as well and Tucker happily accepting, coping Danny with his own, "I'd love to dance."

The only difference being Tucker added on, "Get ready little girl, 'cause I'm about to rock your socks off with my awesome dance skills!"

A quiet, "Right, Tuck, right," followed them inside and one very confused and hurt Valerie Gray pulled herself out of the shadows to shake her head and make her way back inside via a different door. The image of Danny gently kissing the until recently not well known, quiet Sam Manson was pushing burning tears to her eyes, though she refused to let them fall.

Angrily sweeping across the dance floor, Valerie found a convenient jock on the A-list and asked for a dance, which he happily accepted, though she didn't even know his name, 'It doesn't matter anyway. It doesn't.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Alright, boys and girls, and chaperones and teachers," the DJ smiled tiredly and set about introducing one last song for the night, waving as a few couples he knew started to leave, "Last song of the night, so let's make it a good one! I'll wait for all the cute couples to make it to the floor before we begin."

"You heard the guy," Jazz laughed as she pulled the tired Tucker up for one last dance, "It's the cute couples time to dance, and Sam said we were a cute couple."

"Danny's gonna' kill me," was all that Sam heard as Tucker was forcefully dragged off, Jazz and the boy laughing as they went. Danny's blue eyes and a hand once again filled Sam's sight, and the girl submitted with a tired sigh. They had previously enjoyed several fast paced dances, not all limited to the ones with predetermined dance steps, and Sam had been pleasantly surprised to find that Danny could be an excellent dancer when provoked.

The boy told her of how his parents loved eighties music and he'd grown up learning what they termed 'freestyle' dancing and 'breaking it down', much to the amusement of the two. This song though, as it was the last of the night, was undoubtedly going to be slow and Sam didn't mind that at all either. Danny was as elegant a dancer as he was a fighter, but only, she had noticed, when he either really didn't think about or really concentrated on it. He was one of those paradoxes in her everyday life.

All the couples were positioned and ready, lingering on the dance floor as they impatiently awaited the music, and Sam felt her lips curl into a smile as the first strains of the music wavered out of the speakers to the absolute, jaw dropping disbelief of every single person still in the building.

"Is this…," Tucker's face twisted, a strange contortion of his facial features caught between laughter, disbelief, and possibly even regret that he wouldn't get another dance in for the evening, "The _Chicken Dance_?"

"Yep," Sam moved over and bumped her butt against his own, forcing him into movement and a smile to appear on his face, "Might as well go with it, it's not like we have anything better to do right now besides make fools of ourselves."

"I do that everyday," Danny laughed, grabbing for Sam's hand as Jazz grabbed his own and the four teens started their own little circle during that particular part of the song, "I actually kinda' like this song."

"Just because you get to hold hands with your girlfriend, Fenturd," the annoying voice of Dash Baxter broke their moment of merriment as his group of friends headed for the nearest exit, "Losers."

"Whatever," Sam rolled her eyes and broke her hold on Danny's hand as she called to the group slipping through the doors, "Just because you're too insecure to just let go and have fun like we are, that's no reason to take your suppressed emotional regrets over your own insecurities out on us!"

"Wow," Jazz looked from the confused and dazed jocks that simply shrugged their shoulders and continued on, no one really caring that the music had suddenly changed in lieu of the amazing slur the Gothic girl had hurled, "Not only did you just totally insult them, you used too big of words for their Cro-Magnon minds to comprehend. Nice."

"I know," Sam polished her fingernails on the edge of her dress, glancing at them haughtily, before giving a startled yelp when she found herself pulled up close and personal to Danny's chest, "Danny!"

"One last dance," the boy pleaded, his eyes begging as much as his pouting face, and mouth, was.

'And who am I to say no to those lips?' a wicked smile settled on her lips as she settled against the halfa, enjoying the fact that he boldly set his hand a bit lower on her back than he had all evening, 'If he wants to dance, let's dance.'

Jazz stopped her own dance with Tucker for a second to just watch her younger brother dance with the girl she'd only met a few weeks before, noting an intensity in Danny's gaze that she rarely saw outside of his fights. Taking note of this, she pulled Tucker further onto the dance floor to leave him to his peace, which he so desperately needed, yet rarely received.

The last dance ended far too quickly in the opinions of all involved, and as the elders who oversaw the event started sending the youngsters on their ways, the small group of four shuffled to Jazz's car, tired from the evening but still on the high of such a wonderful evening.

Sam's head was resting on Danny's shoulder before the car was even started, and the young man noticed she'd once again kicked off her shoes and tried to get her toes to relax by curling and uncurling them, 'Cute toes…'

"Really?" Sam's drowsy voice reached his ears and snapped him out of his thoughts, which had unfortunately been spoken just loud enough for the girl to hear, "Cute toes huh?"

"Yeah," his arm curled around her smaller form as she snuggled deeper into his shoulder, "but I won't tell anybody. Wouldn't want to ruin your reputation."

"You got it," and she was gone, drifting into slumber as gentle as anything, much to Danny's silent amusement. Jazz and Tucker held their own quiet conversation up front as Danny lay his cheek against Sam's hair, enjoying the soft texture as well as the delicate scent that seemed to exude from the girl. It was all too soon when Jazz pulled up to the giant FentonWorks sign that heralded their home, and the two boys and one awake girl slid out of their seatbelts.

"Sam's out," Tucker leaned over the back of his seat to see the girl passed out on Danny's shoulder, "Must be a heavy sleeper."

"Not really," Danny shrugged as he stretched and pulled himself out of the car, leaning back in to snag Sam's shoes and set them on the roof, "That probably sounded like I'd know for a reason other than the real reason that I know…"

"It's always like that with you Danny," Jazz pulled the shoes off her car's top and handed them to her brother before blinking sleepily and starting towards the house, "No worries though. I'll let you off the teasing, but just for tonight."

"Gee thanks, you're such a wonderful sister," he sat the shoes back on the roof of the car, then reached back inside to possibly wake the sleeping girl, "No comment Tuck, I still owe you for taking my sister out."

"Got it man," the boy swiped his jacket out of the front seat and headed towards the house, "I'm too tired anyways. Mind if I crash on the couch?"

"I don't care," the boy shrugged and frowned down at Sam, "Should I wake her up?"

"I dunno'," the other boy waved him off and headed inside, "I'll tell your mom and dad you're taking her home, and maybe get something to eat…"

His voice trailed off as Jazz laughed and the door shut behind him, leaving Danny standing on the street with Sam asleep in the car in front of him, 'This is going to either be really funny or really painful…and I hope that it's the first one.'

"Sam, wake up," the boy tried to be as gentle as he could, laying his hand lightly upon her shoulder and giving her a soft shake, "Hey, we're back. Time to wake up sleeping beauty."

"If you call me sleeping beauty again, I'll bite you," violet eyes opened to glare at laughing blue, "What time is it?"

"About two," Danny stood and stretched, moving back so Sam could wriggle her way out of the car with her dress still decently covering her, "We managed to break curfew by about three hours and I didn't waste or lose any of the money my Dad gave to me. I'd say we did pretty well."

"Shoes?"

"On top of the car," he pointed and stretched again, trying to fight off the yawn that was threatening to overtake him, "Jazz didn't want me to put them there, but I figured that was the safest place they could be."

"I think I'm just going to walk barefoot," Sam held her purse in one hand and her shoes in the other, her fingers clutching both tightly to herself, "I'll see you later."

As Sam started to walk off, Danny shot her a puzzled look and quickly caught up with her, "So that's all, not even a goodnight kiss or the honor of walking you home or anything?"

"If it's two in the morning, then it's probably better that I arrive home quickly and by myself," she sent a sideways glance at the boy still walking beside her, "I'm serious. My parents wouldn't think twice about a restraining order."

"Wouldn't it be worse if a boy doesn't walk you home?" Danny tilted his head to catch Sam's eyes as she was shorter than him, "Seriously, it would be very non-chivalrous if I didn't accompany you home. Your parents might get the wrong idea about me."

"I'm sure they have the wrong idea about you already, Phantom," Sam laughed, then stopped as she stepped down on a broken piece of concrete, "Ow."

"Well, Phantom or no, at least I get the chance to walk you home and play hero," the young man caught Sam's arm and helped her balance herself out, "I could always give you a piggy back ride."

"Skirts and dresses aren't exactly proper piggy back clothing. It's a little too easy for a boy to cop a feel," she looked around uncomfortably, "Besides, I'll probably make your arms fall off by the time we make it the rest of the way to my house."

"Nah," he turned around and knelt slightly, "Piggy back rides never made anyone's arms fell off, and even though I act bad sometimes, I'm in the hero business…except for on Mondays and holidays, from two to six. Weekends excluded of course."

"You're nuts," and even as she said it, Sam found herself hiking up her skirt with her shoes and purse hanging off her wrist and hopping on the boy's back, trusting that his hands weren't going to wander, that he wasn't going to drop her, and that he wouldn't be too perverted about the whole situation, "then again, so am I."

"Isn't it fun?" the halfa stood fully and gave her a little bounce, his hands securely under her knees, though her dress provided a layer between their skin, "Another couple of blocks and you're home."

A few moments of walking and Danny felt the girl settle herself even more heavily against him, her arms around his neck loosing their hold as her body slumped and formed to his own, "Sam? You still awake?"

"Barely," she leaned her head against his, bringing one of her hands up to run through the short hair on the back of his neck. A shiver shot down the halfa's spine and his hands clenched against her legs in response, making Sam a little more awake and one of her eyebrows raise in smug satisfaction, "Danny?"

"Um, s-sorry," he cleared his throat and smiled grimly as her porch came into view, "You're home."

"Good thing too, I'm about to fall back asleep," she let her hands slip through his hair again, and bit back a smile at his reaction, "I like your hair."

"I'm glad," Danny answered back unsteadily, blushing brightly at his reaction and the thoughts running through his head, which he was pretty sure Sam would not appreciate at that particular moment. Sam slid down and straightened herself out, an effort slightly in vain as her dress had been rumpled beyond help throughout the evening, "Now you can say goodnight and run off."

"Then goodnight," Sam smiled and looked down towards her bare feet, "and thank you for my first dance. It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Of course, it probably helped that I had a date for once."

"Yeah, same here," a hand snuck to the back of his neck without his permission, causing Sam to smile at the recognized nervous gesture, "Can I, um, kiss you goodnight?"

"You didn't ask me on the bench," Sam quirked an eyebrow and stepped forward, Danny's hand moving forward as well to catch her around her waist, "I know I called you shy, but that doesn't mean you have to act that way all the time."

"Sam," the boy laughed, leaning down slightly to press his lips against her own, "It's a little different when you're sitting in the dark versus right on the doorstep of the girl's parents' house and disaster is just behind the front door and a porch light that hasn't come on yet."

"I will never understand your logic," the girl moved away and up the steps, emboldened by her evening and the tenderness that Danny had shown her all evening, "but don't think I'm going to stop trying to, Danny."

"As long as that's a promise," the halfa's eyes flickered to green and his hair turned white in a blinding flash of blue-ish light, leaving Sam momentarily blinded, "Just remember, ghosts don't take promises lightly. At least, my type don't."

"Good guy type, or evil type?" Sam teased from the porch, then smirked and folded her arms as he sent her a wicked grin and floated up into the air, "In any case, neither type is allowed to visit me tonight. Go home Phantom."

"I'm going," he smiled, then floated back down for one final kiss. Sam shivered and leaned in farther with the cold biting into her lips from his and her palms growing cooler against his chest, ignoring the chill that was racing through her entire body at their intimate contact. Danny pulled away and watched her shiver again, the pride that he'd pushed down early mounting again as her eyes followed his form, "Cold?"

"Yes," she smiled, then opened her door, "But that just gives me a good reason to take a nice, hot, _long_ shower. Night Danny."

And with a blown kiss, the door was closed in the young man's face, leaving Danny alone and slack jawed at her second to last statement. Floating three feet above the porch with glazed eyes was all he could do for a moment until he finally shook off his stupor and forced the images out of his head with a laugh that Sam heard as she traveled up the stairs to her room. He was gone a few seconds later, flying through the air with a satisfied smile on his face which Sam caught as he passed her window.

'Yep,' the girl smugly thought as she eased her way out of her dress and let her hair down, the corsage sitting safely in the small mini-fridge in the corner of her room, 'Goth girl now has eleven, halfa still three…wonder if I can make it to twenty before he makes it to ten?'


	21. Confide

_**The Art of Conversation  
**_By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Okay, so I sat down this weekend and thought up an entire storyline past the original twenty chapters! This chapter is the last of the first arc, so we'll start shifting into some new territory…which is going to be really fun to write, lol.

There will be four arcs, possibly five, including the one I've already written; which is chapter one to twenty one. I think though, that they will be split into four, or five, different stories, all entitled with "The Art of ….."

This also means this will be the last chapter of AOC, quickly followed by the first chapter of…:  
_**The Art of Science  
**_Should be exciting, no?

Anywho, not as long as the last few have been, but I've definitely gotten this out a lot quicker. I actually wrote it all in one go, so don't blame me if there are too many errors or anything. You know I don't edit, lol.  
Enjoy!  
PS-It's still summer so don't expect me to be an updating fool like I normally am. This has just been a small reprieve in which I've had time, and capabilities, to write and post.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Twenty One: Confide**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"_Good morning Casper High," _here the intercom crackled and in two different classrooms halfway across the school from one another two students and a teacher winced and were reminded that a new system was still desperately needed for the sake of bleeding ears, _"We hope that you all enjoyed the End of Year Dance and had a safe and fun weekend."_

'Yeah, real fun,' Tucker glanced down at his watch as one of the members of the Student Council continued with the morning announcements, 'Ran around town all day Saturday looking for a gift for my Mom's birthday, which was that night, then ended up running around all night looking for a ghost with Danny. Sunday was just wonderful too…'

"Tuck," Danny leaned over and poked him hard in the back of his right arm, earning a glare and a mumbled 'ow' from the other boy, "Dude, what's up with you? You and brood don't work well together in the same sentence."

"Just reliving the exciting, _fun _weekend we had," the other boy groused, though he was truly more upset about Sunday than about the ghost chase with his friend, "Not to mention that I actually had a chance at a date with a girl on Sunday, but got blown off when her friends showed up."

"Who?" Danny frowned heavily, trying for all the world to figure out who Tucker had met on Sunday, "At the mall or something, right?"

"Yeah, at the mall," both students studiously ignored the announcements as they continued their hushed conversation, "The girl who works the register at GameHalt. I wasn't even trying to pick her up or anything and she started flirting with me. Then her friends all came in and drug her off to lunch right before I could ask if she wanted to go grab a bite to eat…"

"Sucky," Danny sympathized with his best friend, knowing all too well how hard it was for someone of their social standing to get a date, let alone a steady girlfriend, "But at least you learned something."

"What?" Tucker sighed heavily as they stood for the pledge of allegiance, the entire class tiredly repeating the well worn words. As soon as they were done, the students sat back heavily in their chairs and listened with disinterest as Principal Ishiyama began to speak on some presentation to be held in the auditorium later that week, "What the heck could I have possibly learned?"

"To be yourself," the halfa leaned back cheekily in his chair with folded arms and a grin plastered on his face, "She liked you because you _weren't _flirting with her."

"Whatever," and Tucker just laughed as the day began, a few thoughts stirred up by Danny's observation, 'If it's really that simple, I think I just might drown myself in the world of technology and hide from the stupidity of me…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Alright," Jack rubbed his hands excitedly, readying the newest version the Fenton Ability Detector. This was the fifth version, and by far the most advanced as it could pick up the most basic of ghostly abilities as well as the more advanced. The more advanced were what they had been after, as they had often seen this ghost split himself into four or more copies and had yet to be able to detect this particular skill, "Time to give this another go."

"Jack," Maddie's voice echoed worriedly from the stairs as she paused to look down at the ghost who was looking at her, "He's testing the field around the containment area again. I think we need to start thinking about more safety precautions and a few more containment fields, just in case…and I think I'd like to do the planning and work outside of the lab."

"Whatever you want, baby," he moved to block her from the ghost's line of vision, helping her down the stairs as he did so, "I've got the F.A.D. all fired up, so let's give it a go. Then how about we work upstairs like you said for a while, and I take you out for an early dinner?"

"That sounds wonderful," the woman smiled lovingly up at her husband, much to the disgust of the ghost kept in confinement, who was sneering for all he was worth at the open display of affection in front of him, "Do you think the kids will mind fending for themselves this afternoon?"

"Jazzy-pants is home," Jack leaned in for a quick kiss, then turned back to shoulder the large machine, "Besides, Danny is old enough now to really start taking care of himself. If he'd just stop staying out late…"

"He is a teenage boy, dear," Maddie laughed and watched carefully with her weapons at the ready as Jack approached the ghost and the ghost approached the front of his 'cage', "You were one once too."

"I know," he shook his head, then aimed the gun and fired, a light blue scanning the ghost thoroughly and slowly, beeping every few seconds as another and then another skill or ability was found, "It's showing the ability to transport instantaneously, creating upwards of five copies of himself, lasers out of his eyes, and several other capabilities it didn't find the first time. Maddie! We've done it, we've finally created the perfect ability scanner!"

"This is just perfect," the woman clasped her hands in front of her, ignoring the red eyes that followed her every move and the sigh that had just issued from the creature over her happiness, "Jack, we'll be able to more accurately file the ghosts now, and know just which ones are in our skill range to take down, and…and there's just so much work to be done!"

"But first!" the man brought his wife around for an elated kiss, their happiness visible in their actions, "Fudge break!"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Afternoon," Tucker chirped happily as Sam slid into the chair across from him where Danny usually resided, "You look tired."

"Just a long night of being bothered by my parents about something I'd rather not discuss," Sam let her backpack hit the floor with a solid 'thunk', not caring if anything in it was hurt by the action, "Let's just leave it at a rather ugly argument and my parents going nuts. Besides that, the world has been alright."

"Get back here Ghost Child!"

"Or at least it was," Sam's forehead hit the table with another 'thunk' that rivaled her backpack's just as Tucker pushed back his chair to stand, "So they don't show up at all to cause havoc at the dance, but Sunday and Monday are fair game?"

"Saturday too," Tucker replied a bit too brightly for Sam's taste as he dug a Fenton Thermos out of his backpack and watched Danny appear in the middle of the cafeteria, flipping up a table to take the impact of a rocket launched by an unseen foe, "Three seconds and the cafeteria will be completely clear…"

Three seconds later and it was exactly as Tucker had said; the entire cafeteria was empty of both staff and students. Danny's enemy was in plain sight now, and was recognized by Sam as Skulker, based solely off of descriptions Tucker had given her as they talked over Danny's old fights, "Skulker right? The one who likes to hunt Danny and wants his pelt to lay at the foot of his bed."

"Yeah," came the halfa's reply as he was thrown backwards and sailed passed the pair on the ground, stopping himself on the opposite wall of the cafeteria, "Either there or on his wall. I don't like the idea personally, but I'm a little biased I guess you could say."

"I'd never guess why that is," Sam replied sarcastically as the Fenton Lipstick was pulled from the front left pocket of her skirt, "Then again, I can't say I've ever been in the same situation."

"I got chased down by Paulina and Star once," Tucker added in thoughtfully, pulling Sam down with him behind a knocked over table as the two ghosts continued their fight, "I kinda' got out of control about being a king with this one mummy ghost and made them my handmaidens…Danny kicked butt like usually, but that time I really got to help."

"You always really get to help," the boy scrambled behind their small barricade suddenly and took a second to breath before throwing up a shield around all three of them just before a laser split the table in two and bounced harmlessly off the shield, "Right now would be one of those most appreciated times though."

"Okay," Sam shrugged and stood as Danny let the shield drop, taking aim carefully with the lipstick, 'Breath, then fire…and try not to fall on your butt like Tucker keeps saying you will the first time you shoot this thing."

"Is she really…?"

"Probably…"

"What's this?" Skulker paused as he found himself being threatened by a young woman holding a tube of green lipstick, with the ghost child and his human accomplice standing with amused smirks on their faces behind her, "You think that will scare me, human?"

"Not yet," Sam replied, then jumped slightly when she felt two pairs of hands on her, one set firmly against her lower back, the other pair holding her shoulders, "Guys, seriously, let go."

"You're gonna' fall over," Tucker warned, but didn't move his hands, Danny not moving his either as he just laughed silently and watched Skulker, ready to throw up a shield in front of them again, "You'll thank us after you shoot."

"Shoot?" Skulker was standing with his arms crossed, in slight disbelief that she was going to shoot lipstick at him, "What would lipstick do to me?"

"I dunno' yet," Sam replied with a shrug, then squeezed the small tube, giving a startled yelp as she was literally shoved backwards into Danny and Tucker's waiting arms, "That…that would have…"

"Right on your butt," Tucker nodded sagely and took his hands from her back, grabbing the Fenton Thermos off the floor and whistling in awe of the shot she had made, "Dude, you took his helmet off!"

"That's what I was supposed to do right?" Sam pulled herself away from Danny's hold and the laughter that he was desperately trying to hold back, peering forward to see the body of Skulker laying uselessly on the ground, a small green creature cursing from the open helmet, "_That's _Skulker, world's and ghost zone's greatest hunter?"

"You got it," Danny slung an arm around her, still laughing at her shock over how strong such a tiny weapon could be, "Glad that Tucker insisted that we hold you up?"

"A little," she frowned down at the tiny laser in her hands, wondering at the power behinds such a small ecto-gun. Tucker shook his head and pulled the lid off the thermos, trapping the nuisance seconds later with a tiny grin on his lips.

"So, have fun with your first official ghost hunt?"

"So that's what this was?" she shot both boys an odd look and caped her lipstick, sliding it quickly back into her pocket, "I think I did enjoy it, and I think I did pretty well."

"Yep, yep," Danny moved away, glancing around to determine if he was safe or not in changing. A flash of light later and Fenton stood in place of Phantom, shaking his head at the mess that had been made, "You know, the cafeteria isn't too messed up…though the rest of the hallway and the driveway leading up to the school is a different story. But I guess it could have been worse."

"More messes?" Sam shook her head, then turned back to Tucker, remembering the start of their earlier conversation, "So what happened on Saturday with ghosts?"

"Just Youngblood again," Tucker shrugged and moved to stand beside Sam, both watching as Danny picked his way through the cafeteria, searching for their backpacks for them, "He decided he wanted to take over a candy shop and play Willie Wonka. Me and Danny had to chase the hyper little jerk all over town after that, and the worst part was it was my Mom's birthday. I got to stay for the party, but then I ended up sneaking out. She found out and I was grounded."

"If it's any consolation, I've been grounded for the rest of eternity," the halfa walked up with both of their satchels in his hands, still intact, if not a bit dirty, "Then again, what's new?"

"Well, then let's have a giant pity party because I've been grounded too," Sam sunk heavily into one of the only chairs still upright, the boys relaxing on the floor beside her, "And no, I'm not gonna' say why and please don't ask."

"Alright," Danny shrugged, knowing full well that Sam was being stubborn for a reason. He tried calling her over the weekend and had been immediately hung up on. Trying again found him listening to a yelling match between Sam and her mother before Sam answered with a hasty, 'What do you want?' He'd of course decided that perhaps it hadn't of been the best time to call her and apologized, hanging up with the sound of her parents still ringing in his ears. They hadn't talked since.

"Anyways, since lunch is obviously over, I say we head to our lockers and get ready for the rest of the day," Tucker stood with a stretch, "Hey Sam?"

"What's up, Tuck?" she turned with a small smile, making Danny's heart clench in a rebellious show of jealousy. They were friends, of course she'd smile at him, but it still made Danny feel strangely about how close they'd grown without him ever really realizing it.

"Do you think it's better if a guy flirts with you to get you to go out with him, or if he's just himself?"

"Um," a look was shot towards Danny, though Sam quickly caught herself and focused all her attention on Tucker and his question, "A little of both, I guess."

"Both?"

"Yeah," she shrugged and started walking, her boys faithfully trailing her on the hike down the torn up hallway, 'Wow, Danny wasn't kidding, I can hardly walk through here.'

"How do you mean both?" Tucker caught up to her and walked with her, rather than behind her, a curious look causing his brow to scrunch cutely.

"Most girls like it if you're just yourself around them the first time you meet them. Make you seem more genuine if you're interested in her," Sam shrugged, then gauged the distance across a rather massive hole in the ground. Taking a step back, she jumped, and made it with a few inches to spare, "I guess after that, then flirting is a good thing so she'll know you're interested in being more than friends. Flirting between friends isn't a bad thing either, but I'm pretty sure with the way you flirt with most girls she'll be able to tell the difference."

"Right," Tucker and Danny were both still on the other side of the hole, one wondering just how he was going to get across, "Think I can climb down and then back up?"

"Probably not," Danny shook his head, then started to walk down one side and back up the other, "I don't think I could jump that either, so I guess I'm in luck that I have my own personal transportation device built in."

"You suck," Tucker bit out, then wearily approached the edge, much to Sam's amusement. Taking several steps back, Tucker got a running start and put the full strength of his legs behind the jump, praying that he'd at least make it to the edge, which he thankfully did. Sam laughed as she caught him by the shirtfront and pulled him forward, his arms still flailing as he caught his balance.

"Nice, Foley," she let one side of her lips turn up in a grin and let his shirt slip from her fingers, "Now all we got to do is work on your form and you'll be ready for the Olympics in no time."

"If it means going on another run with you like on Sunday, you're nuts," Tucker shot back, and winced as he watched Danny turn his head sharply towards them, 'Damn it, I forgot to tell him that me and Sam hung out before I went to the mall and she headed home. She must of seen a ghost on the way then, since she mentioned Sunday.'

"No more runs on Sunday for me," Sam shook her head, a grimace washing over her features, "When you split for the mall, I got buried in boxes on the way home, then teased by that crummy ghost for 'getting in over my head' for like ten minutes."

"The Box Ghost is out?" Danny shot Sam a confused look, tinged with hurt that she'd spent her free day with the other boy in her life, "Why didn't you call or something?"

"For one thing I was supposed to be grounded and had snuck out for a run," the trio finally made it to the hall which held their lockers, several students milling around as they awaited further instructions over where to go now that their lunch had been interrupted so severely, "I got re-grounded for that, and my cell phone was taken away. He had the butler sit in with me after that for the rest of the evening."

"So we all had bad weekends," Tucker looked around the school with a shrug, hoping that Danny wasn't thinking up horrible pranks in retaliation for hanging out with his almost-girlfriend, "At least I got to hang out with my two best friends, even if it was at really random, separate times."

"We still need to work on your running time," Sam finished in her locker and closed it, turning to lean against it as the two boys were already doing on either side of her, "For chasing ghosts all the time, you're still pretty slow."

"Not everybody is a presidential health exam winner like you are Sam," Danny cut into the conversation with a tight smile, "I doubt I'd be able to keep up with you running either if I didn't have, you know."

"Then maybe you should work on it," Sam shrugged, "You never know what might happen."

"Actually we do," Tucker yawned, then continued, "He got shrunk once and started losing his powers. He had to fight Skulker, then take the presidential exam freshman year, and we were both nearly dead by the end of it."

"Aw, so wimpy?" Sam turned laughing eyes to where Danny had been standing, only to find air in his place, "Danny?"

Sitting up off the lockers, the pair looked around for the missing halfa, finding nothing to indicate where he'd gone. A frown settled across Tucker's features just as Sam turned to ask if he knew where Danny was, managing only a quiet, "What?" before lines appeared across her forehead from her worry.

"What's going on?" Sam looked between Tucker and the empty spot beside her.

"You might have hit a nerve," Tucker shrugged, "I mean, no guy wants his girl to think of him as weak or anything."

"That's so…," Sam shook her head, then rounded on the boy beside her, "You didn't get upset when I told you that you were a slow runner and probably couldn't throw a text book across the hall if your life depended on it!"

"Yeah, but," Tucker shrugged and tried to impress upon her the difference between himself and Danny, "You're not my girl. You're a friend, so it doesn't really bother me. It's a little different for Danny, who actually _did _sorta' start working out after that…just in a really _different _way."

"Oh," a blush scattered across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, "So…"

"Yep," Tucker sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets, just as the announcement system sent a piercing screech through the hallway, "He thinks you think he's a wimp."

"_Good afternoon students."_

"That's the stupidest…"

"_Because of the ghost activity on school property this afternoon…"_

"…most shallow, idiotic, pigheaded…"

"…_we will be releasing school early today and ask…"_

"…nonsense I've ever heard! I can't believe he'd think I think that after…"

"…_that you stay in the hallways until the bell rings. The phone in the office, as well as several others…"_

"…all that I've seen him do; what's he want? For me to stroke his ego?"

"…_will be available if needed. Thank you all, and please be safe on your way home."_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Well, here's FentonWorks," Tucker looked wearily up at the brick building before him, Sam on his left practically burning a hole in the front door with her glare, "Have fun ripping Danny a new one. I'm gonna' see if Mrs. Fenton has any food around…"

Marching in with Tucker meekly following behind her found Sam staring down Jazz sitting alone in the living room, reading a book as was usual for her when she was actually home, "Where's Danny?"

Her tone brooked no argument, and Jazz quietly pointed to her right, the wall being the only thing there, "He went that way."

"Stupid, ghost imbued powers, and stupid boys with their stupid egos," she slammed her backpack down on the coffee table and marched back out the door, "If he comes back tell him to wait."

"You got it," Tucker laughed out, then winced as the door slammed shut, "He's about to get an education in what Sam thinks is shallow and pigheaded."

"What'd he do now?" Jazz flipped another page in her book, glancing over at Tucker as he sank into the couch tiredly.

"She said something about the both of us needed to get in better shape and he disappeared. I think she hit a nerve after that whole Fenton Crammer thing," the boy shrugged as Jazz nodded her agreement, "Plus he was probably upset with me because I got to hang out with her on Sunday and he didn't get to talk to her all weekend…and I forgot to tell him I got to hang out with her…"

"Ouch," Jazz sat her book down and looked around nervously, on behalf of the boy beside her, "Are you going to hang around here?"

"Definitely," Tucker nodded, his nervousness coming to the forefront, "It was bad enough that you and me went to the dance together…he's going to be seeking retribution any second now…"

"Well," Jazz stood and patted the boy's head, "Good luck with that. I'm going to be upstairs, safe in my room. Mom and Dad are out tonight so good luck with any ghostly problems you might have!"

"Thanks Jazz," Tucker pouted, then turned on the television and yelled so she might hear him upstairs, "Way to abandon a friend in need!"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Masters," a pretty brunet smiled graciously at the man before her, taking his hat and jacket from him as she handed over a cup of perfectly made coffee; two sugars, no cream, just the way he enjoyed taking it, "I hope that the flight went well for you."

"Yes, thank you my dear," he nodded congenially to the woman, sipping at the strong liquid and enjoying the aroma around it, "Wonderful coffee, as always."

"You've had three messages already Mr. Masters, and the suite you'll be staying in is ready whenever you'd like to go up," she handed over a cardkey and smiled once more, "If you'd like, I'll have someone send up selection of our finest wines. I know you enjoy a glass every now and again."

"Not tonight, thank you," he took the assigned key, noting his room was number four thirty seven just as he'd asked for, "The messages, however, would be greatly appreciated, though please just list the names of who called and I'll know what priority to take them."

Watching the man tiredly rub at his temples, the young woman, who's name happened to be Suzie and who happened to be one of his personal assistance, winced in sympathy, "Two were from Mr. Stenson, and one was from…Maddie Fenton? I've never taken a message from her before, but I am fairly new…"

"Ah, Maddie," Vlad smiled fondly, though the feelings of longing that usually accompanied her name were dulled greatly because of his separation, "A good friend from college, as well as her husband. He's a bit of an imbecile when compared to her though, and I'll never really understand their unusual relationship. She left a message you said?"

"Just something about dinner at the Fentons', Thursday night at seven thirty if you could manage," her notebook was opened quickly to the correct date, and she scanned the page, "You have an appointment with Iris then, sir."

"Then it will just have to be cancelled," the man smiled congenially, and moved off towards the elevator with Suzie in tow, remembering a time when he would have stepped inside by himself, only to fly up to his room, 'That is no more, thanks to Daniel. Clever boy…and that is unfortunate for you, isn't it?'

The elevator finally reached the appropriate floor and with Suzie taking notes as he talked, Vlad made his way to his room, his things having already been brought up by the hotel staff, "And I think that perhaps I shall take dinner at the Risto tonight."

"Yes sir," came the immediate response, and Suzie was backing away from the door he was about to open, "I'll call right away and reserve your table in the backroom."

"Ms. Florence?" his voice stopped her just as she was about to turn and head back to the elevator to make the proper arrangements for her boss, "Have you checked into your room yet?"

"Actually sir, I'll be staying at the Best Southern down the road a bit," she bit back a grin at the grimace that crossed his face, "It honestly isn't that bad."

"I had assumed that you always booked a room in the same hotel as I," he glanced sideways at another member of his staff that had been with him for far longer than Suzie had, "Was she not informed to do so, Sutherly?"

"Yes sir," came the immediate reply, a small nod being given to the man as well as the verbal response.

"It's not exactly in my budget at the moment sir," Suzie shot back, "I understand that we're well paid, but I'm still paying off student loans. I'd rather stay there and save three hundred dollars every night, if you don't mind."

"A wise choice," the older gentleman nodded, a smirk crossing his lips, "Keep impressing me with your good sense and you'll move up the ranks quickly."

"Thank you," and she back into the elevator with an embarrassed, if not pleased blush, on her cheeks. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Vlad and Sutherly were rewarded with a crowed, "YES! That rocks!"

Both chuckled gently at the youthful girl, then sat down at one of the tables to discuss a new business venture…one that could be profitable to Vlad in more than one way. Still, that was a long way off, and torturing his Little Badger would provide a good distraction while he was in town to meet with Mr. Sentson, his head researcher at Axion Labs.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The evening was rapidly ending, with the sun beginning to sink and only thirty minutes more of the golden light to be enjoyed until evening turned to twilight and twilight swirled into dusk. It was the perfect evening for a jog in the park, or maybe even a quick walk for couples, several of which Sam had already passed as she kept searching for a certain phantom boy.

'Hm, Phantom,' Sam mused silently to herself, going over all the different ways the word applied to Danny, and how well it fit him, 'I wonder if he came up with it or Tucker? I guess that's another one of those stories that hasn't been shared yet…I'm sure that there's tons. Like Danny said, Tucker doesn't know everything. I'd bet my boots that Danny's had plenty of fights that Tucker and Jazz don't even know about.'

Sam's walk had slowed after the first thirty minutes of purposeful striding, letting herself slip into more of a meandering amble as she thought over the past few months, everything that had happened or been discovered folding and unfolding in a tangled mess in her mind. There was still so much to learn, as she had found out earlier that day. Tucker congratulating her on her first successful ghost hunt had been a bit of a shock as she'd seen and been involved in several already.

'He was kinda' right though,' she tilted her head in salutations to a jogger as he passed, then stopped beside a curbed walkway, scuffing her boots on the raised concrete and stuffing her hands into her pockets, 'I actually fought the ghost and beat it this time, I didn't just distract it. Wonder what Danny thought?'

Her thoughts started to drift back to the hallway then, and what had brought about her search. A heavy sigh of regret sounded as Sam thought over his reaction and the circumstances explained to her by Tucker. Her anger at him just disappearing had passed, and now she just felt guilty, 'I guess I'd be a little self conscious too if everyone at school thought I was the wimp who got shoved into lockers. He isn't weak or anything, but he is a little shy about that fact…'

"Hey, kid!"

Turning quickly, Sam found herself face to face with the jogger who had just passed her, his hand wrapping strongly around her arm as he jerked her forward with him. She struggled for a second, wrenching her arm away from the man and was about to chew him out for daring to assault her when a rather loud explosion behind them made Sam focus on the absolute fear on the man's face, "Get out of here, girl, there's a huge fight going on right over there! C'mon!"

He grabbed for her once again, but Sam held her ground and deftly moved away from him, walking as calmly as she could manage in the opposite direction and away from the well meaning, if not creepy, man who was calling out a, "It's your life!" as he ran.

'Well, this is certainly convenient and makes my life easier,' Sam let herself slip into a light jog, conserving her energy just in case she had to high-tail it away from danger, 'Wonder who he's…fighting? What the hell?'

"C'mon Kitty. Kitten? Honey?"

"Don't you Kitty, Kitten, Honey me!" a girl with wild green hair was glaring up at the much taller Johnny 13, whom Sam had encountered a few weeks earlier, "Just what did you think you were doing, not showing up for our date when you promised you would, then running away here when I found you? You weren't going to pick up girls again were you? Were you?"

"Aw, sugar, no," he cajoled with hands in front of him in a placating manner, "I'd neve-"

Sam smirked wickedly and enjoyed the tackle that brought Johnny down, with Danny pointing a thermos in his face, "Mind if I take out the trash Kitten?"

"Go right ahead," the girl ghost folded her arms, her head turned up and away in a very harsh snub as the other boy disappeared inside, "You can keep him in that thing for all I care."

"You don't really mean that," Danny stood and dusted himself off, frowning at the girl before him, "You're gonna' start missing him, and I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't give him back."

"Probably," an eyebrow was raised, then the ghost looked down at her fingernails to check for chips or other such things, "You've gotten smarter when it comes to girls, huh?"

"I doubt it," Danny looked between the girl and the thermos, "I really don't want to suck you into this thing. I feel kinda' bad about it, since Johnny was the one causing trouble again."

"He's always causing trouble," she sighed heavily, a sad look crossing Kitten's face, "But what's a girl to do, right?"

"You could always dump him," the halfa shrugged, something in the corner of his eye catching his attention, but not enough to take him away from the ghost in front of him lest she try something, "Go for someone better."

"If I didn't know better, I would say you're sweet on me," Kitten laughed prettily, then glanced towards what had caught Danny's eye, "but then again, you look like you've got yourself a girl. Besides, I love him too much to give him up, so don't get any ideas."

"Hey, no ideas here," Danny backed up, much like Johnny had done earlier with his hands up, "Just head back to the ghost zone and I'll let him out later tonight, alright?"

"'Kay," she leaned over a bit, smiling cutely as she did so, "Thanks Danny."

"Whatever," Danny turned to walk away, a clear dismissal on his part, "Hurry up and leave before I change my mind."

A rather flirtatious laugh was all that Sam heard as the young ghost melted away, supposedly heading back to the mysterious ghost zone that she so often heard about. Watching Danny walk reminded Sam of when she thought of him as Phantom, always so tired with no real explanation other than fighting constantly, which was actually almost true. He fought, and often, but his exhaustion was from more than that. Friends, girls, school, his social life, his home life; it all came together and drained the energy from the boy faster than Sam thought possible.

Casting a critical eye over him, she scrutinized his body physically, with as much attention to detail as she could possibly get at the distance she was at. Tall, wiry frame, with muscles, certainly. His legs looked fairly well built, though he was probably right about being able to keep up with her. His shoulders, chest, and upper arms were very developed, more than likely from all the upper body work he put himself through blocking, punching, lifting things and people, and throwing energy and objects, 'He's definitely not out of shape, he just uses different muscles and probably isn't used to running because he flies around so much. He's got stamina in his fights sure, but they don't usually last more than five to twenty minutes…'

"More sprint than long distance," Sam mused out loud, finding her eyes locked in Danny's own startling green gaze. He'd drawn closer as she watched, allowing her the opportunity to study him in motion, 'Is that possibly a four pack? I didn't think…'

"Hi," the young man finally stopped his walk when he was about arm's length from Sam, not sure how to approach her after he took off that afternoon, 'Yeah, way to not be an emotional, teenage wreck and let a little teasing hurt your feelings. She probably thinks I really am a wimp after that. And why is she looking at me like that?'

"Hi," she responded in kind, her eyes still roaming his body a little more freely than she might have normally let herself, 'This is for his ego…it won't hurt to give him a little confidence boost, and then I'll give him a little piece of my mind too.'

"Um, what are you looking at?" he glanced down and started to look at his jumpsuit, checking for tears or dirt or something that might attract her attention, "Sam?"

"I just…," but she blushed not really sure how to word what she wanted to say, 'I could always just blurt out 'You're hot, with muscles, so stop being all pout-y about it,' but I doubt that would give me the outcome I want…'

"Just…?" Danny coached her gently, glancing around nervously as people started to pop up from their hiding places and migrate back to the scene of the earlier fight. He tried to not often be seen in public, especially around the people who knew him in both worlds, as Phantom and Fenton, "Sam…I think I need to go."

"I just found you," the girl frowned heavily, her tone bordering on pout as she folded her arms sharply, also noticing the gathering people, "I've been looking for you since we got out of school, Da- Phantom."

"Then you should start _walking _home," he said pointedly, glancing quickly towards the path through the trees, "There's too many ghosts out tonight for me to stop for an interview and play Spanish Inquisition with a schoolgirl."

'All of this code talk is really ridiculous,' Sam heaved a sigh and blew hair from her face, causing Danny to almost smile, "Fine, whatever. I'll get an interview for my school paper eventually…"

"Good," and he was out of sight, though somehow Sam knew he hadn't really gone far. Several other people had gathered and were chuckling good naturedly at the ghost boy's abrupt dismissal of the girl. Sam, however, didn't think it was that funny and marched off towards the indicated meeting place, 'Forget what I thought earlier about giving him a confidence boost, he's going to get it.'

A gentle, gloved hand was on her arm, sliding down to her hand as she entered the tree line and sending shivers skittering across her skin from both the shock of the cold and the unexpected, intimate gesture. Allowing his hand to enfold her own, Sam soon found herself in the air and invisible, the coolness settling in her body far more easily now, though it still felt strange.

"So, now that your stalker finally caught you," Danny's voice echoed slightly with the influence of his ghostly form, almost making Sam laugh at how silly he sounded when Phantom and nervous, "Um, can I take you somewhere really neat?"

"It depends on what neat is to a stalker," the girl shot back, looking down at the park as they flew over it, then over the buildings, then part of the town. He was streaking across the sky now, with Sam held more securely in his arms, and Sam felt sure her heart would burst from the adrenaline of such a recklessly fast flight, "Danny? Where?"

"That hill, right in front of us," his flight slowed, as did Sam's heart. Her belly felt as though it had been left behind and was just now catching up, something she'd always particularly enjoyed when on roller coasters, "I like coming up here to think sometimes. Besides, you're a girl, and you can see the sunset…I always was under the impression that girls liked stuff like that."

"Don't you?" Sam shot back, enjoying the much slower flight as he twisted them in and out of a few trees before hovering in front of one particularly old oak. Sam stepped lightly onto the large branch in front of her completely visible, with Danny's hand never leaving her own lest she lose her balance.

"Yeah," the boy laughed, then winced as Sam shivered, "Sorry I'm so cold, I'll turn back in a second."

"It really doesn't bother me so much," the girl leaned back against the tree's massive trunk and looked out across the entirety of Amity Park, awed by such a beautiful sight, "You know, you'd really make some money if you took some pictures from up here. I never even knew this hill existed."

"The only reason I know about it is because Johnny 13 once tricked my sister into dating him," he rolled his eyes and pointed off to their left, "He took her to the other side of the hill, over there, and tried to get her to wear some of Kitty's clothes so she could possess Jazz permanently. I found it after I came back to make sure I took care of everything."

"Does everywhere you go or visit have a ghost related story?"

"Yeah," Danny laughed, then sat and looked up to where Sam was still standing, "Do you want to sit down?"

"Yes," she nodded, with a rather sarcastic tone to her voice, "but for one, I don't think the tree will be that comfortable for me with a skirt on, and two I have a skirt on and I don't want you…seeing anything you aren't supposed to."

"Well," the young man was up and walking in the air next to their branch, pushing Sam forward and further out on the branch, "You sit there, and I'll sit behind you, that way you can sit however's comfortable and not worry about me being a pervert. Plus, that way you won't fall."

"Did anyone ever tell you that somewhere in that C average student an A student is hiding?" she grinned to herself as she sat on the branch, knees bent slightly and her hands planted behind her for better balance. She jumped a bit when she felt warm hands on her wrists, lifting her arms a little to push them forward, "Danny, I can't sit like that, I'll lose my balance."

"No you won't," he chuckled, sliding his legs up on either side of her and wrapping one arm around her waist, "See? The hiding A student had a plan, albeit it was mostly to get to sit really close to a pretty girl, but it was still a plan…"

"You're such a guy," Sam eased back into him, enjoying the warmth of his now human body and the security she found in his form behind her, "but you're right. This is…nice."

"I like it," the boy admitted, looking past her to enjoy the view he so often found relaxing, "I didn't mean to ditch you at school, you know."

"I guessed, but I didn't know," Sam turned her head slightly to find his chin hovering over her shoulder, "I probably shouldn't have said what I did, but I really was just teasing. I mean, I've seen you with your shirt off, and anybody who's done that knows you aren't…out of shape."

"I overreacted," the boy shrugged, finally taking a deep breath and letting his chin settle on her shoulder, enjoying how closely he was holding her, "No big deal, I wasn't really upset."

"I am sorry," Sam apologized despite his assurance, feeling that he wasn't quite being honest with her about the whole situation, "Earlier at the park, when, uh," a blush settled over her and she felt Danny smile against the side of her neck and face, "Yeah, I was looking at you so I could tell you what I thought about how…in shape you are."

"So how 'in shape' am I?"

'What was that tone about?' the girl swallowed hard, the husky timbre to his voice causing butterflies to well up in her stomach. She viciously stomped the feeling down and continued, determined to be as professional about this as she could, "Pretty in shape. Your upper body is really well developed, probably from all your fighting, and you have at least a four pack as far as I could tell, which means that you've worked on your stomach and obliques. Your arms are nice, especially your biceps, again from all the fighting I'm sure. You're probably right about keeping up with me when I run though. Your legs are strong, yeah, but not made for long distance like mine have been trained to be. I run a lot, and you run a little. I figure you'd fall more under the sprint category than the long distance one."

"So you got all that out of staring at me at the park?" he leaned over her shoulder a bit, causing Sam to pull her head back and to the side awkwardly, "Just how long did you stare at me?"

"Not that long, Mr. I wear a skin tight jumpsuit that shows off everything," Sam retorted with a blush, knowing full well that she'd both saved herself and cursed herself with that one sentence.

"Everything?"

Okay, maybe more saved than cursed, especially since the halfa behind her had squeaked the question more than asked it. A giggle broke from her lips before she could help it and Sam let her head fall back against Danny's shoulder, nodding and mouthing a 'Yes' in answer to his question as she did so.

She kept her eyes closed for a moment, enjoying the feeling of his chest rhythmically rising and falling as he breathed and breathing deeply as a tiny hint of his normal scent wafted over her. Danny carefully pulled his other hand from where he'd rested it against his thigh and slowly wound it around Sam's waist, shifting back to lean against the trunk as he pulled her to lean with him, 'So far, so good. Now for the really hard part…'

"Hey Sam?"

"Hm?" she was sounding like she did the other night, halfway asleep and at peace with the world around her. Danny figured as long as she didn't reach back and start playing with his hair, he'd be fine.

"I sorta' got jealous this afternoon too," he leaned his face more fully into her shoulder, and turned so that his nose was resting against her neck, "I'd been wanting to see you all weekend, and then out of nowhere Tucker and you say you saw each other on Sunday…I kinda' got angry for a few minutes. I left more because of that than because of what you said."

"You were jealous because I took Tucker on a death run?" she wrinkled her nose in a happy grin, trying to keep the blush off her face at his admission, "Seriously Danny, I saw him in the park while I was jogging and got him to jog with me…after I stole his PDA and made him run with me to get it back. I was bored of running by myself and kinda' forced Tucker to."

"Poor Tuck," the halfa shook his head, and inhaled gently, enjoying the light scent of whatever perfume Sam happened to have on, "I guess I should feel sorry for him, then, instead of jealous…"

"Probably," and again the conversation lulled as they sat in the tree watching the sun sink further and further, the stars beginning to shine overhead as the last brilliant golden beams winged their flight over the rapidly darkening sky.

"Sam," Danny held her tighter all of a sudden, turning so his lips were brushing against her neck in a rather alarming manner, though it certainly wasn't a bad thing in Sam's mind, "I really…I mean _really_ like you. I know I just broke up with Valerie a couple of months ago, but it wasn't like I was looking for someone. You just…you found me."

"I…," but Sam had to pause to collect her thoughts, wondering just what his whispered confession that she had found him meant, "Danny, I was the one who was lost."

"I've liked you for a long time," the young man admitted with a wince which Sam felt against the delicate skin his breath was washing over. His whispered confessions were coming out in a rush, as though he was desperate to get it all out before he messed up again, "I liked you before we really got to know each other, and then I really liked you after that. I didn't know why I was doing it, but I couldn't stop myself from dropping hints about who I really was when I was Phantom. I wanted you to know that it was loser Danny Fenton who wasn't all that much of a loser. That I was the one that saved you and was your friend and you thought was strong or brave or whatever you thought about me…"

"Danny," Sam twisted herself a bit, sitting sideways on the branch between his legs and still wrapped in his arms, "You don't have to explain anything. You already explained who and what you are…I'll figure the rest out on my own. Besides, it'll give me something interesting to do when I'm bored, right?"

"Heh," he laughed once and looked up towards the heavens, his blue eyes darkened by the emotional high he was on at the moment, "I'm just glad that you found me, Sam. I'm not so…I dunno', I feel better."

"Does it help if I say I feel the same way?" she pulled his head back down with a hand to his cheek, "It was really weird falling for two different guys, one dead, the other alive and feeling like it was somehow okay that I liked both of you…Phantom and Fenton. I thought I was going crazy or something."

"Then you figured it out," his forehead was cool against her own, but the hands around her waist felt entirely too warm through the thin material of her tank top, "I'm really glad you did."

"I am too," Sam chuckled and enjoyed the smile that was given to her from Danny in that moment, "I was really glad that you two were actually just you…as weird as that sounds. I really did fall you Danny…pretty hard actually."

"And pretty fast too, if you were like me," the halfa laughed and tilted her chin up a bit, stopping just before he kissed her, "I did the same thing."

"What?"

"Fall," his eyes were glowing just the tiniest bit and at Sam's questioning look, the boy blinked and looked away, then back with a shrug, "I can see a little better in the dark if I let some of my power slip…its some weird ghost thing…but back on more important subjects besides ghosts, which I absolutely do not want to have anything to do with right now," here Sam chuckled and Danny ignored her in favor of continuing his little speech, "I'm glad I was sent to the office that day and got to talk to you."

"Me too," Sam grinned, then reached up and pulled his head down to her, stealing a kiss of her own as he had so often done to her over the past few days, "I'm glad the art of conversation isn't dead."

"Sam," Danny chuckled out, caught between his surprise at her forceful kiss and the humor of what she'd said, "You're a riot…"

"Alright, whatever," she smirked and pecked his lips again, "Halfway not dead."

The laughter of one very amused halfa ended abruptly as Sam reached up for her third kiss of the evening, happily scooting even more closely to the boy holding her as his arms tightened and forced her to. Her shirt was riding further up as she moved, and soon the skin of her sides and stomach was laid bare against Danny's arms. The contact of skin to skin that was not usually touched by anyone besides herself had Sam taking a deep breath and pulling back for a second.

Danny pulled back as well, wide eyed, worried at what had occurred, and hastily removing his arms from her sides, reminding Sam of a conversation of weeks past. Leaning into him, she caught one of his hands, which was oddly transparent because of the shock he'd suffered, and set it back around her waist, her shirt still raised from their preceding activity and her skin still bared to the cool night air, causing goose-bumps to crawl across the skin of her arms and legs until Danny's hand reappeared and warmed her once again, "As long as those hands don't wander too much until I'm ready for them to, I don't mind."

"So…," Danny cutely brought his free hand up to rub at the back of his neck, a charming smile plastered on his face as he addressed the girl he had been previously making out with, "Does this mean we're dating?"

"Danny?" Sam turned fiery eyes on the boy, leaning in until they were nose to nose, one of her fists twisted in the material of his shirtfront.

"Yeah?" he nervously chuckled back, trying to lean further away but failing because of the tree trunk behind him, not even remembering his ghost powers at the moment.

"If you can't figure that out, then you really are clueless," she reached up and flicked his nose with a finger, "But I'll give you a hint: If I catch you flirting with other girls, you'll find out first hand what the Fenton Lipstick feels like, even if it knocks me on my ass."

"Right," he nodded hastily, then leaned back down for another soft kiss, "Girls besides you are off limits…I think I can handle that."

"You'd better or el-," but she was silenced much as she had silenced him earlier, and their conversation was effectively ended for the evening as the moon took the place of the sun and the stars watched over the unusual pair in the tree.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Are you ever going home, Tuck?"

"Are you kidding me?" the boy shot back from his place on the couch, a specter detector firmly set about his waist, "I ain't going anywhere until Sam gets back with Danny in tow so she can tell him to leave me alone."

"So, if Sam doesn't find him and he shows up by himself," Jazz leaned over the edge of the chair she was perched on, grinning at Tucker and talking with a sweeter than sugar voice, "what are you going to give me to save you from my little brother?"

"The real question is, why does Tucker need saving from me?" Danny kicked off his shoes as he shuffled inside, Sam behind him with a rather glazed look and very ruffled hair, "And why are you bribing him?"

"Yay, it's Sam!" Tucker's eyes lit with hope as she rolled her eyes, shook her head, and moved towards the couch he was on, "Don't let Danny hurt me…"

"Why in the world would Danny hurt you?" she shot the boys a confused look, then heaved a sigh as she remembered the halfa's earlier confession of jealousy, "Never mind, I already know. Danny's over it and won't kill you, and you can thank me for that because I sucked it up and told him he wasn't wimpy or out of shape."

"Not out of shape at all," the boy echoed arrogantly with his eyes averted innocently and his hands behind his back, causing Sam to blush at the tone of his voice, "Did you know, she gave me a complete rundown of all the attributes that show that I'm not out of shape? Nice arms, nice shoulders, killer abs…"

"Danny," Sam cut in, beet red and ready to pummel the boy she had been having…quality time with a scant ten minutes before, "Some conversations aren't really that great to share, because they sound really _wrong_ the second time around."

"I'll say," Tucker finally got up from the couch and shot Sam a look as he took in her frazzled appearance, "Danny start doing loops when you two were flying?"

"Something like that," Sam shook her head to clear it and hopefully rid herself of her red cheeks, "It wasn't that bad, but I wasn't expecting to go from zero to sixty in two seconds…"

"Heh, see, we actually went about seventy on the way there," Danny helpfully pointed out, "And about ninety on the way back."

"Back from where?" Jazz cut into their conversation, looking surreptitiously over at the clock, "It's already nine, just where have you two been for the past oh…eight hours?"

"In a tree."

"At the park."

"I mean at the park."

"Erm, in a tree?"

Tucker and Jazz both broke out laughing at the situation the other two teens found themselves in and Sam finally got fed up and threw the nearest pillow at the pair, "It took me forever to find Danny, and by the time I actually checked the park it was almost dark. He caught Johnny what's his face, there were too many people around to talk, and we ended up going to this hill outside of town and sat in a tree to talk. Nothing happened."

"Much," Danny mumbled under his breath, so only Sam could hear it, causing her to blush again. Danny secretly enjoyed it and figured he might as well help her out so he didn't get pummeled, "Anyway, we just talked and watch the sun…set, shut up Tucker. We lost track of time, sorry Mother Jazz."

"So long as it doesn't happen again," she cast a knowing eye over her brother, reveling as he squirmed under her scrutiny, "I won't tell Mom and Dad you broke your grounded curfew."

"Crap!" and Tucker and Sam were both at the door and hurriedly pulling on their shoes and boots respectively, as well as pulling on their backpacks. Danny stood shaking his head, as he too remembered that all three of them had been grounded at some point during their weekend.

"See you around, Phantom," Sam grinned along with Danny at their private joke, then turned to head out the door, Tucker hard on her heels, "Bye Jazz!"

"See you two later!" she sweetly answered, then rounded on her brother, "Now about that hill…"

"Hold that thought, I have to let Johnny go!" and Danny was off to the lab, ignoring his sister's calls and the menacing glare sent his way by Plasmius. He wanted some slight reprieve before what was about to happen.

It was about to turn into one long night of lots of embarrassing sister, brother heart to heart talks, but Danny didn't really care at the moment as he released the ghost from his thermos and headed back upstairs. His head and heart were still on a hill above Amity, and as far as he was concerned, until he saw Sam again, it could stay right there.


End file.
